Shift
by ohmygodagiantrock
Summary: What would happen if Yugi accidentally let the millennium puzzle fall into the wrong hands? Or are these really the wrong hands after all? Perhaps our favorite duelists can work some good into this sudden shift. Rated T for some language in later chapters.
1. Unintended Wager

A/N: This takes place after Battle City, but before the God Cards are stolen and the Atlantis arc begins.

Also, there's some Yugi bashing in this - it's very Kaiba-centric. Don't get me wrong, Yugi, as well as his Yami, are two of my favorites, but I wanted to try something from Kaiba's point of view.

"_Italicized quotations signify a character speaking to another through a mental link."_

"Regular quotations within a conversation involving a mental link will signify those same characters, still speaking through a mental link, once they have moved to a realm (typically inside their mind rooms/the millennium puzzle) where they can hear, see, feel each other and not be intruded upon."

_Italics without quotes usually mean a person is thinking to himself, or it's a flashback. You'll know which is which._

Now on to the story...

* * *

"My big brother's a better duelist than you'll ever be!" Mokuba Kaiba shouted at the spiky haired duelist, his eyes sharp and grounded with determination. He would not let himself be put down by a cheat. Especially not a cheat who had tricked the whole world into believing he had trounced Mokuba's idol.

"Mokuba, let's be rational… please. We're all friends here." Anzu pleaded. Mokuba ignored her.

"Hey man, Kaiba ain't that great a duelist." Jounouchi spouted. Honda elbowed him in the ribs to shut the blond up, and Mokuba glared at him with rabid eyes.

"What's that supposed to mean?! Not like you even _deserve_ the right to judge, Jounouchi. You've never won a single tournament in your life! My brother won every tournament and even every single duel he ever fought until _he_ came along and screwed everything up!" He gestured to the short gamer.

"Yeah, and that's exactly what I'm-ngh!" Honda had elbowed him again, but Jou still refused to relent. "-what I'm sayin'. Kaiba met this little shrimp (sorry Yug', but you are pretty little) who barely had his foot in the door of the duelin' world, and he goes from top dog to no one takin' him seriously practically overnight. That sucks, but dontcha think that if he were really that great, he oughta be able to wipe the floor with him at least _once_, even if Yug' did get lucky and knock him out with Exodia their first duel? But since he _can't_ beat Yugi even after tryin' - how many times now? -"

"Shut up." Mokuba cut in, voice dark. "Shut up, shut up, _shut up!_" The young boy began shouting. "You're wrong! My brother studies Duel Monsters. He works really hard on new strategies to stay on top of the game. And people _do_ still take him seriously! Do you know how often it happens that we can't get out our own front gate because there's a swarm of fans blocking it who want his autograph? How many times has that happened to you, Jounouchi? Or even to you, _Yugi_?" He said the name like it was a filthy word. He got no reply. "That's what I thought. So until that happens… _Shut. Up_. My brother will always be better than you." He finished with the signature Kaiba venom in his voice.

"So he's got fans. I ain't convinced." Honda had stopped trying to save his friend from his own funeral, and Anzu covered her face with her palm, likely trying to pretend she wasn't watching this bold stupidity. Yugi just stared at the ground in front of the youngest boy's feet, his face unreadable. "Kaiba's famous for more than just dueling. But Yugi's got plenty of fans and so do I. So who cares?"

"_I_ do. Yugi relies on chance to win his duels, and from what I hear, Jou, so do you. Oh, I'm sorry. What is it you call it? _The heart of the cards_? You're a joke!"

"Hey! Watch who you're insultin', you little snot! Yugi could beat your brother without the heart of the cards-"

"Uh, Jou?" Yugi sheepishly interjected, but Jou brushed him off.

"…or his puzzle."

"_Jou_." Yugi insisted, but still he was ignored.

"But you know what? Kaiba ain't here right now, so you got no one to run cryin' to. You gonna pick a fight out here all on your own, put up yer fists like a real man!"

"A real man, Jounouchi? You mean like the kind that threatens defenseless children? Yes, that seems quite manly to me," came a bold voice from behind him.

"Kaiba!" Jou was surprised, but kept up the defensive stance he'd taken.

"That's what I was trying to tell you, Jou…" Yugi mumbled, but no one seemed to hear him.

"Seto!" Mokuba sounded a lot less surprised and a lot more enthusiastic to see his brother.

"Hey man, he started in on us. He just comes in here spoutin' off this garbage about-"

"I don't want to hear it." He interjected, one hand in the air to silence the blond. "I already know what this is about. You and your pathetic little group of friends seem to think my _skills_ - skills which I have practiced and mastered through grueling years of fighting my way to the very top - amount to exactly nothing in the game of Duel Monsters, as though my reputation and fan base don't speak for themselves."

"That ain't what I said."

"Regardless, that's how my brother seemed to have taken your remark. If you didn't want to be misunderstood you should have made your point more clear. That is, if you _had_ a point. I must have missed it if it was there. But I do believe I heard you say that Yugi could defeat me without any outside help? I'm willing to test that theory in order to prove _my_ point."

"Kaiba," Yugi started timidly. "I really don't think any of this is necessary. This all started as a misunderstanding…" Kaiba clearly wasn't listening, so Yugi stopped talking. He was busy examining his little brother's expression. He saw the grin split the young boy's face, and nodded in determination. He wasn't _asking_ to play a friendly game. He was _going_ to prove who the winner would be.

"_What should I do, Yami?"_ Yugi asked his other self through their mental link.

"_I'm not certain we have much of a choice, Yugi. Kaiba seems rather set on making this happen, and I don't think it's worth the trouble to fight him on this."_

"_But Joey went and said… without the… without the puzzle. How can I beat _Kaiba_, of all people, without your help?"_

"_Relax, aibou. You have come very far with your skills. I am confident that you can win without me."_ Yugi still felt unsure. _"And if you still have doubts, my friend, well… what is the worst that may happen if you cannot defeat him? Kaiba will let it go to his head, but he will leave satisfied, no harm done. This is not an official tournament match, anyhow."_

"_I guess you're right. What choice do I have, anyway?"_

"_You'll do fine, Yugi. You have my support, and that of all of our friends as well. So even though you may feel like you're fighting alone, we will all be right by your side until the end."_

"_Thanks, pharaoh."_ Yugi said with more resolve. "Alright, Kaiba. If you want a duel, you've got one." He added with a little less volume, "It's just you and me this time." He lifted the heavy chain from around his neck and handed his puzzle off to Jounouchi. The blond took it and stood off to one side to get a better view, between the two duelists taking their fighting stances on the walkway in front of the game shop.

"Get 'im, Seto! Show them all who's _really_ the world's best duelist!"

Kaiba flashed his signature smirk and loaded his deck into the slot on his duel disk, and watched with calculating eyes as his opponent did the same.

* * *

As Yugi's life point counter sunk down to zero, an unfamiliar feeling washed over him. It was not the feeling of defeat, as Kaiba would have pointed out. Yugi had lost duels before; he knew what that felt like. This was not the same. This… emptiness, for lack of a better explanation, was not something he knew.

A strange light sprouted from near the middle of the makeshift arena the two duelists had just finished playing on, and it interrupted Yugi's thoughts. He could just make out through his squinted eyes that the light was being emitted from his millennium puzzle, and wondered what that would mean. He noticed vaguely that across the arena, Kaiba was shielding his own eyes as well.

"_So it's not in my head. Yami? What's going on?"_

No answer came.

"_Yami?"_ Yugi called again, though it was slowly dawning on him that he would not be getting a reply.

"What's goin' on? What's with this light?" Jounouchi called. As he was still the one holding the puzzle, it was too bright for his eyes to recognize that the source was in his hands.

"It's the puzzle, Jou. I think…" Yugi started, but was interrupted by his grandfather exiting the shop, shouting.

"Yugi! Do you understand what just happened?" The light had dimmed down to a soft glow before it finally disappeared completely.

"I think I'm starting to…" Yugi hesitated.

"Take a look at your playing field. Look where Jounouchi is standing, holding the puzzle."

"Right in the middle." Anzu noted. "But what does that mean?"

"In ancient Egypt-"

"_Not_ this garbage." Kaiba rolled his eyes. "I don't know what that little light show was, nor do I care. I think I proved the point I came here to make. Let's go, Mokuba."

"Wait, Kaiba. It's very important that you hear this, and understand what the two of you boys have just done!" Kaiba was clearly growing irritated, and Grandpa's voice was growing horse from raising it. Mokuba, who hadn't previously seemed to care much about anyone present aside from his brother, was now intrigued. Now that his brother had been victorious, proving him right, Mokuba's anger seemed to have subsided. He glanced up at Kaiba, eyes shouting that they should stay and hear. Kaiba sighed, flicking his wrist out to check the time.

"Mokuba, you have lessons. This was a detour our driver hadn't intended to make. Take the limo home and get to your schoolwork. I… _suppose_ I'll stick around to hear whatever bull these dweebs are about to try and sell me, and I'll see you back at home tonight." Mokuba looked put out, but his brother's authoritative glare told him this wasn't up for discussion.

"…Fine. See you tonight, Nii-sama." He wrapped his little arms around his big brother's waist in a quick hug and waved goodbye to him as he hopped into the open door of the limo, and it pulled away. Kaiba turned back to Sugoroku.

"Alright, let's get this over with. Make it quick; my patience is thin."

Sugoroku took a breath. "As I was saying, in ancient Egypt, wars waged over the millennium items were played much like this game you boys have just played. Members of the pharaoh's royal court would defend against intruders trying to fight their way into the court by owning the items."

"But Grandpa, we didn't say anything about waging the puzzle to the winner!" Yugi protested, clearly distressed.

"I understand, Yugi. Though it was not intentional, having Katsuya hold the puzzle while standing in the middle of the arena at the moment Kaiba became the victor must have signified to the puzzle that ownership has shifted."

"_Signified to the… puzzle?_" Kaiba mouthed the words, then scoffed at the old man. "You're all insane. That hunk of gold is nothing more that _just that_."

"Think what you will, Kaiba, but the fact still remains that this item, housing more power than any of us can understand, has now become _your_ possession."

"If that's true, Grandpa, that would explain why I can't hear the pharaoh."

"I expected as much. The puzzle belongs to Kaiba now, and its powers have been transferred to him. The pharaoh will have to communicate through him. Kaiba, I understand you intend to leave, but you must take the millennium puzzle with you." A pained expression crossed Yugi's features upon hearing this, but he nodded in understanding.

"No thanks." The billionaire rolled his eyes, unimpressed. "Keep it." He turned in the direction of his car parked across the street. He slipped one hand into his pocket and wrapped his fingers around his keys.

"_Kaiba…_" Sugoroku called in a warning tone. "If the puzzle does not remain in the hands of its recognized owner, we run the risk of it easily falling into the wrong hands. Were it to be stolen-"

"Let me guess: if that happens, the _whole world_ will be in danger!" The CEO mocked.

"I fear you are not taking this as seriously as is necessary." Kaiba sneered, but Sugoroku spoke in a tone darker than the others had heard him use before. "And that, Kaiba, may be our undoing. If that isn't enough for you to understand the importance of this event… well, just remember: If our world perishes because you refused to take responsibility, your brother Mokuba is going with it."

"How _dare_ you!" Kaiba seethed, clenching his fist at his side to restrain himself from assaulting the old man. "Mokuba may be the reason I came here, but he has nothing to do with-" Kaiba was cut off by the beeping radio hanging from his belt.

"_Mr. Kaiba,"_ Isono's muffled voice called. _"We have a situation. Please return to headquarters immediately."_ He growled.

"This has delayed me long enough!" He snapped. "If it will shut you up so I can leave, I'll take it with me. But that does _not_ mean I'm going to go chasing after ancient fairy tales just because you think it's my 'destiny'. I couldn't care less about-"

"_Mr. Kaiba, please respond."_ Isono's fuzzy voice came over the radio again. Kaiba pulled the small hand-held device off his belt and spoke into it, tone direct.

"I'm on my way. Manage until I arrive." He held his hand out pointedly, obviously finished with the discussion. Yugi retrieved his treasure from Jou and approached Kaiba cautiously, cradling the item in both hands.

"Please, be careful with it, Kaiba. It's very dear to me." But Kaiba wasn't listening. He lifted the golden item roughly by its chain and turned again to stalk off.

"I will be taking it back, Kaiba… when I can."

Yugi thought he heard the man mutter "good" before walking away, but he couldn't be sure. Sugoroku placed a hand on his grandson's shoulder, but Yugi failed to notice.


	2. More Than I Bargained For

A/N: Hey guys, thanks so much for the views and feedback! This is has actually been the first bit of literature I've written that I've ever posted online, on any site, (*bashful*) so getting such a response is really a huge confidence booster. I'm sorry I can't answer the questions my lovely reviewers have asked without some potential for spoilers, but I'm really happy to know that people are interested!

Without further delay, I present to you the second installment. I do hope you enjoy!

* * *

The spirit of the millennium puzzle could think of no other way to announce his presence other than to simply speak.

"_You're driving a little fast, aren't you, Kaiba_?" Not anymore. Kaiba, startled, slammed his foot onto the brake pedal, and the silver Audi skid to a halt, not even taking note how lucky he was to be the only driver on the dark road.

"Where the _hell_ did you come from, Yugi?! I demand an explanation!"

"_Calm down Kaiba. I am here because you are now the owner of the millennium puzzle. And I must say, I would like to see it treated with a little more respect than this._" The pharaoh gestured to where the puzzle lay at his feet on the floor of the front seat.

"Then pick it up and hold it yourself. You're the one who cares about the thing."

"_I'm afraid I can't do that._" When Kaiba stared at him with an annoyed look on his face, he explained. "_The puzzle is an inanimate object; it is matter. If you turn on a light, you will more clearly see that I am not._"

"What are you talking about, Yugi?" The spirit gestured toward the switch for the car's overhead light to illuminate the dark interior of the car and, frustrated, Kaiba clicked it on. "Wh-what is this?! I can see right through you!" Kaiba growled. "I'm losing it…"

"_Well, Kaiba, it is true that this is in your head. But I assure you, you're not insane._"

"And what is _that_ supposed to mean?"

"_Let me explain. This,_" the spirit gestured to himself, "_is how I appeared to Yugi when he had the millennium puzzle, and how he appeared to me when I was in control of his body, such as while we were in a duel. I am speaking to you through your mind, and were anybody else present right now, they would not be able to see me, or hear me._"

"So I would look like I'm schizophrenic…" Kaiba allowed the thought to sink in, and suddenly his eyes grew wide. "Which is exactly what my employees will think when I go back to work, if they see me trying to talk to you! They'll never take me seriously again." Kaiba muttered, then growled again. "Why can't I just return the puzzle?! I never wanted it in the first place!"

"_Again, Kaiba, I ask you to please calm down. You don't need to speak to me out loud. All you have to do is think your words in order for me to hear you._"

"So you're saying you can hear my thoughts. This just keeps getting better and better. And you haven't answered my question. How do I get rid of this thing?" He glanced at the puzzle still lying on the floor, sighed, and picked it up by its chain. He stared at the thing for a brief moment before announcing, through thought, "_I am not going to wear it._", and placed it inside his car's glove box. He then put his car back in gear and drove off toward his home again.

"_I'm afraid being rid of it isn't as simple as handing it back to Yugi. Ownership of some of the seven items may be given that way. But the puzzle is special - it has to be won in order for all of its powers to be transferred, and for me to utilize him as my host. In order for you to give it back to Yugi, he has to defeat you in a duel, with the puzzle as a recognized prize._"

"Defeat_ me? Yugi can't beat me. Not without… wait._" The pieces had begun to add up inside Kaiba's mind. "_You said you've helped him duel!"_

"_Yugi and I duel as a team, save for rare occasions when it isn't possible… like now."_

"_So _that's_ how you were able to beat me. I wasn't wrong; you _did_ cheat me out of my title!"_

"_Kaiba, this is hardly relevant. If you truly are eager to be 'rid' of me, you should probably focus more on getting Yugi to duel you. I'm certain he wants us to be reunited as much as I do, so I assure you, it won't be difficult."_

"_But losing to him will be. I find it very hard to believe that runt could be victorious on his own. And I will not throw a duel."_

"_You're very self-confident for someone who has never _really_ beaten him." _Kaiba was now shooting daggers at the spirit.

"_You know very well that isn't true! And even if it was, every duel we've played is now entirely invalid, now that I know it was two against one."_

"_Once again, does this really matter right now?"_

"_You were the one who insisted that-"_

"_Enough. This will get us nowhere."_

"…_So all of this means that you'll be able to read my thoughts, and spy on me too, I'll bet. Am I right?"_

"_You have my word that I will not intrude on your life, Kaiba."_

"_You already have. How do I know I can trust you?"_ He growled, apparently forgetting Yami could hear the words he spoke inside his head. _"I'll never be comfortable showering again…"_

The pharaoh sighed, pretending not to have heard his last comment. _"I'm sorry you don't already feel that you can trust me - despite all that we've already been through."_

"_Why should any of that matter? You've deceived me from day one. You made me think you're someone you're not… some_thing_ you're not. And just what am I supposed to call you, anyway? Clearly you can't both be Yugi Mutou."_

"_You may call me whatever you wish. But Yugi and the rest of our friends refer to me as Pharaoh."_

"_Of course, more of that Egyptian garbage."_

"_Kaiba, you're tied to it as well, if you would ever just open your eyes and see it."_

"_Whatever. So this is it? As long as I have this damn item, you just follow me around wherever I go, being invisible to everyone else and listening to all of my thoughts?"_

"_No." _He didn't elaborate.

"_Well?"_

"_I only came out to say hello." _His voice held a cheeriness which irritated Kaiba further. The pharaoh, however, didn't seem to mind.

"_This is getting _very_ annoying."_

"_I spend most of my time dwelling within the millennium puzzle."_ He explained.

"_I don't see how that's even possible. It's nothing more than an upturned golden pyramid."_

"_I don't see you understanding the detailed explanation any easier."_

"_Try me."_ He rolled his eyes, rapidly losing interest.

"_First, allow me to explain something. I am only able to exist as I am - merely a spirit connected to the puzzle - when I have a host."_

"_And I gather that I'm currently it." _Kaiba said with a scowl.

"_For now, yes. Through the magic of the puzzle, I am able to embed a dwelling place for myself within the mind of my host."_

"_So you're nothing more than a parasite. Sounds about right."_

"_Not quite, Kaiba, but thank you for your inspiring outlook." _The spirit responded, with obvious sarcasm. _"Not to worry. This 'dwelling place' is nothing more than a seemingly physical area, like a room, of one's mind that everyone has but few have the mental ability to access. There is one millennium item in particular - the key - that specializes in revealing this area. I assure you, you have one as well, and you now have the ability to access it, with my help."_

"_I have no idea what you're babbling about."_

"_You'll see. To answer your question simply, however; no, I will not be following you about your day until Yugi gets the puzzle back. Most of the time you won't even notice me. I won't be aware of anything you do, say or think, unless you want me to, or I am exposed to you as I am now. And it goes both ways. You will not be bothered by my presence or my thoughts, either."_

"_Why only most of the time?"_

"_If you really want so badly not be bothered, I will leave you be as often as possible. However, there still remains the issue of getting the puzzle back into Yugi's hands, so I can't let you ignore me completely."_

"_Why must that be a concern of mine? If you'll simply leave me be…"_

"_Kaiba, don't. You would consider permanently separating me from Yugi, my dearest friend, just so you don't have to deal with this?" _Kaiba said nothing._ "Besides, that would destroy your chances of ever finding out which of out of the two of us is truly the superior duelist." _That caught Kaiba's attention.

"…_Fine. What do I have to do?"_

"_Yugi will certainly agree to a private duel, if you would prefer that over a more public affair. Yugi isn't concerned about the publicity of all of this like you may be. And I assure you, Yugi doesn't care nearly as much about his title as you do."_

"_None of that explains how he's going to be able to beat me without me letting him win - which I refuse to do."_

"_And he wouldn't have you do so. Yugi would want you to give him your best. One choice would be to modify your deck to give him an advantage. This would allow you to play with all your might and still give Yugi a better chance of being the victor."_

"_You're saying I should trade out my own cards for weaker ones, and you still think that isn't the same as throwing the duel?"_

"_Well if that's how you're going to look at it, you may as well just keep the puzzle,"_ the pharaoh snapped impatiently._ "But I'll only leave you alone if you cooperate. You can't get rid of me on your own."_

"_Great. Now I'm being bribed. Or perhaps 'threatened' is more fitting?"_

"_This is only going to last as long as you let it, Kaiba. Ending this is up to you."_

"_Whatever." _Kaiba said again. _"…Will you… go away, or something? I'm nearly home and Mokuba's going to think there's something wrong with me if he notices me going off inside my own head so much. The last thing I need is my little brother on my back regarding my health on top of all of this."_

"_Certainly. You may have your privacy. But I will inform you now that there is more I need to speak with you about, so I shall return soon."_

"_If you really must."_

* * *

More A/N: I just want to add, (but didn't want to say as much before the story) that I apologize if this has been confusing at all. For anyone who feels I threw my readers into too much action, I do promise there will be a bit of an explanation in the next chapter to fill in any blanks. I'm sorry if that has thrown anyone off at all. I admit to enjoying dramatic (possibly confusing) beginnings...

Next chapter should be up in about a week. I'm likely to update on Sundays most often. Until then, thank you all for reading and have a great week!


	3. Consultation

Thank you all for your attention, and especially to A Splendid Guest, Deck Divination, PoisonIvy1998, and Yami E, for the feedback on the first two chapters :) Here we go again with round three.

* * *

"So does someone wanna fill me in on what happened earlier?" Honda asked the other teenagers sitting together in the living room of the Mutou residence. Yugi had been so stunned by the occurrence that no one had dared bring it up yet. Instead, they had pulled out a few board games from the shop's storage room to occupy themselves with, although no one seemed to be terribly involved in playing them.

"Well, uh, I guess," Jounouchi mumbled, "I was standin' in the wrong place or somethin' when those two guys dueled, and now the millennium puzzle belongs to Kaiba. And who knows what _he's_ gonna do with it?" Jou, who was sitting cross-legged on the sofa, crossed his arms and brooded.

"Jou, it isn't your fault." Yugi comforted, though he himself was looking just short of distressed. "No one saw this coming. I could never blame you for this." Jou looked over at his small friend, who seemed to be forcing his smile.

"Thanks, Yug'. I still feel rotten for letting it happen, though. And what can we even do about it?"

"Grandpa? Do you know how I might be able to get the puzzle back?"

"I know very little about the situation, Yugi. If I were to guess, I would suggest dueling Kaiba again. I wish I could give you a better answer." Sugoroku placed a hand to his chin in thought. "Come to think of it, don't we know someone who's a bit of an expert on the subject?"

"Yes, Grandpa. The Ishtars. I did already try to make a call to Ishizu earlier, but nobody answered." Yugi replied dejectedly.

"I'm confused about something," Anzu pitched in. "Yugi, what happens to the pharaoh if the puzzle isn't yours anymore?" she questioned.

"I wish I knew. I haven't been able to speak with him since I lost the duel. I hope nothing bad happened to him." _I _really_ hope Kaiba doesn't let anything bad happen to the puzzle, either._

"Hey, Yug'. I'll bet the guy's just fine. I mean, what was he doin' for a good few thousand years before you solved the puzzle anyway? Maybe nothin' happened to him at all. Maybe he's just hangin' out in the puzzle like he was before you two met."

"Yeah, maybe…" Yugi tried to feel hopeful, but was a far cry from convinced. He recalled the few words his friend had said to him before the start of his solo duel against Kaiba.

"…_I am confident that you can win without me. And if you still have doubts, my friend, well… what is the worst that may happen if you cannot defeat him? Kaiba will let it go to his head, but he will leave satisfied, no harm done."_

_No harm done, huh? _Yugi thought. _Pharaoh… I wish I could still hear you, and know that you're alright._

Lost in his speculations, he failed to noticed the telephone ringing until Sugoroku was holding the cordless device out in front of his grandson.

"Oh, sorry." He pressed the green button and held it to his ear.

"Yugi, I understand you have called me? What is it that you need?"

"Ishizu! Thanks for getting back to me tonight." He put the call to speakerphone before setting it on the low table in front of himself and his friends. "I have… uh, a bit of a problem. Well, sort of a really big problem, actually. It depends on what Kaiba decides to do, I guess, but…" Yugi rambled anxiously. "I was hoping you might be able to help?"

"Please calm down, Yugi. Take a breath and explain your problem slowly."

Yugi let out a deep sigh. "Sorry, Ishizu. Okay. Kaiba and I have recently played Duel Monsters…" Yugi explained the problem to the Egyptian, who listened patiently until he had finished.

"I see. This is a grave problem, indeed. You say you are completely cut off from the pharaoh?"

"Yes. I haven't been able to contact or even so much as feel his presence since the duel ended. It felt like something was wrong right away, actually."

"Listen carefully, Yugi. You _must_ reunite with the pharaoh."

"I know. If I don't… well, anything could happen, right?"

"I will not deceive you. If you do not get the puzzle back into your own hands, it is possible we may lose the pharaoh."

"_Lose_ him? How?"

"As you said, it all depends on how Kaiba decides to handle his end of this situation. If he chooses to be reckless and trade or destroy the item, you may not be able to get it back. He must be reasoned with before that is allowed to happen. Our king's destiny is just beginning to unfold after millennia of waiting for the precise moment. If you do not embrace this opportunity to help him, it may be thousands of years before another chance presents itself. And in that time, it is fully possible - probable, even - that another shall come along attempting to tamper with the pharaoh's goals."

"What does that mean?" Yugi broke in.

"With the pharaoh potentially out of the picture, anybody will be free to act as they wish without opposition. And that may be leading our world in a _very_ dangerous direction. Do you understand me, Yugi?"

"I think so…" He confirmed.

"Let me put it frankly. Had this happened several months ago and nothing was done to reverse it, who would have had the power to stop my brother's dark side?"

"I don't know." Yugi said with solemn understanding. "So how am I supposed to regain ownership of the puzzle, Ishizu?"

"You must defeat Kaiba in a game, presumably Duel Monsters. I do not know all of the rules of the millennium items; especially the puzzle. But I _do_ know that if you want the item intending to harness its powers once again, which is the only way for the pharaoh to fulfill his destiny, you _must_ win it from its current owner. Perhaps I myself ought to be the one to reason with Kaiba about this."

"Why's that?"

"In my past experiences, I have found ways to be particularly persuasive to him. You could say I have a way with people. I understand what drives him and I just may be able to convince him to accept a challenge from you in the near future."

"That makes sense."

"I ought to do this as soon as possible, lest something _unwanted_ occur."

"Sure. Ah, but Ishizu? Before you go…"

"Yes?"

"Do you think, if you're planning on talking to Kaiba, that you could, um-"

"Yes, Yugi. I will find out what I can about the pharaoh's whereabouts. If I am able to, I will even attempt to communicate with him."

"I don't know how to thank you, Ishizu."

"There is no need. You and your friends have already assisted me in more ways than I could ever repay. Consider this a contribution to a portion of my debt to you. I will speak with you again as soon as I find any new information."

"I'll keep myself available."

"Good day, Yugi." Yugi said goodbye and ended the call.

* * *

"Seto?" The boy peered over his laptop at the man standing in his bedroom doorway. "You're home later than I thought you'd be." He tried not to let disappointment seep into his tone. "What's up?"

"A situation arose at headquarters." Mokuba's eyebrows rose, but Kaiba waved his hand. "It's taken care of now. Nothing you need to worry about."

"So what happened at Yugi's?"

"That's what I came in here to ask _you_."

"What do you mean?" Mokuba asked apprehensively, hoping he wasn't in trouble for how rudely he'd behaved.

"What started the argument that had our driver calling me at the office to address the situation? You were supposed to be on your way home for your lessons. You had no reason to stop anywhere on the way."

"Well, I…" The raven-haired boy started, fumbling for a way to explain himself, "I was in the limo on the way home, and we passed by the Kame Game shop, and I saw Yugi and his grandpa putting up this sign outside… It was advertising autographs from the Duel Monsters champion."

"And?" Seto sat down on the edge of his little brother's bed. "Mokuba, The Mutou's run a business. They have every right to utilize their assets. If they have to advertise autographs from a wanna-be celebrity in order to make a few sales, who are you to speak against that?"

"But that's the problem, Seto! Don't you get it? Everyone's calling Yugi the champion these days! Doesn't that bother you? It isn't true!"

"Yugi is the King of Games."

"Then _that's_ what their stupid sign should say."

"Is that what this is all about? You started a fight over an ad?"

"Hey," he put up his hands defensively. "I hadn't stopped there _intending_ to start a fight. I just wanted to talk to them about it, but then Jounouchi was there, and he got defensive, and then I did too, and…" He shrugged and trailed off. "But Seto, _you're_ the champion! He hasn't worked for the right to be called that! You climbed to the very top because you have skills, and he just comes along and takes that away with one game? It isn't fair."

"No, it's not." _But that's the way it is_, he thought bitterly.

"And you know what really sucks?"

"Hmm?"

"You beat him today."

"Gee, thanks. I won't let it happen again." Mokuba rolled his eyes and nudged his brother with an elbow.

"I wasn't finished, nii-sama. What sucks about it is that no one even saw it, so it won't change a thing." Seto paused to reflect on what had just been said. He believed Mokuba's theory that his victory would make no difference to anyone but those involved. But he wondered to himself if the reason really was because the match hadn't been widely witnessed… or if he really _hadn't_ beaten the King of Games after all.

"Seto?" Mokuba questioned his silent brother. The elder shook his head.

"I'm fine," was all he would say.

"So… what was everyone talking about when I left?"

"Some pointless drabble about Egypt or whatever. I decided I needn't concern myself with it after all, so I went back to work." Kaiba paused, reflecting another moment before deciding not to try explaining to Mokuba about his new trinket. After all, the CEO hadn't even determined yet if he might simply be losing it. He shook off his thoughts and looked into his brother's violet eyes before speaking again.

"Mokuba, this situation will resolve itself. I appreciate you having so much faith in me, but I would prefer it if you didn't try starting fights in the future. Jounouchi is a hothead. I wouldn't put it past him to have actually thrown some punches, and I would truly hate to see you get hurt on my behalf. Try to stay out of trouble, ok, kid?" He ruffled the child's hair and stood. Mokuba smoothed his mane and sheepishly smiled up at his older sibling.

"I'll try, promise." He nodded.

"Good." Kaiba peered at the digital clock in the corner of Mokuba's laptop screen. "It's pretty late. You should find a good place to stop whatever you're working on and call it a night."

"'Kay. I was just waiting up to talk with you anyway." He closed the laptop and slid it into its case.

"I still have a few things to take care of this evening, so I'm going to have to say goodnight."

"Ok, nii-sama." Mokuba crawled off his bed to embrace his brother, who wrapped an arm loosely around the boy's back. "Goodnight."

"Sleep well, little brother." Kaiba placed a hand on his brother's doorknob to show himself out, expecting the nightly "You too, nii-sama. Sweet dreams." that was typical of the boy, but glanced over his shoulder when he heard nothing but silence. Mokuba seemed lost in thought, but his features snapped to life in an instant upon noticing his brother's gaze on him.

"Seto?"

"Hmm."

"You think what happened today might make the Mutou's change their sign?"

Kaiba blinked, then laughed. Shooting the kid a grin, he pulled open the door and stepped into the hallway before adding in a quiet tone, "Yes Mokuba, I should think so."

Mokuba returned the grin.


	4. Perception

A/N: For a little clarification on the time line of these events, in case anyone were wondering, this chapter takes place the same night as the ending of the last one. There is also a bit of (sort of) crucial symbolism in this story, not limited to this chapter. I only have my own perspective when reading these chapters over, of course, so if some of it ends up being too obscure, I do apologize, but anything that matters to the flow of the story will get cleared up sooner or later anyway (I hope, haha!).

Before we start, I'd like give a grand thank-you to Deck Divination and A Splendid Guest for reviewing, and everyone who gave me a follow or a favorite! As always, it's highly appreciated. And now, onward!

* * *

"_Kaiba…"_

"_There you are. What do you want?" _Kaiba was busy going through his deck, finding it difficult to remove any of his powerful cards. It didn't help that he found himself less than convicted to doing so. Some part of him was back to wondering if he was insane. He decided that it was beginning to concern him how often in his life he had to stop and wonder if he was perhaps going mad.

He had made himself ready to speak with the pharaoh again if he returned, but wasn't actually looking forward to it, as the exchange made him a bit uneasy. So Kaiba had chosen not to summon him, though he knew he could.

"_I have something I want to show you."_

"_Show me?"_

"_I need to you come with me."_

"…_And just _how_ am I to do that?"_ Kaiba asked the spirit.

"_First of all, you may want to lie down on your bed, unless you aren't concerned with anybody checking up on you during the night."_

"_What's that supposed to mean?"_

"_What I want to show you requires you to mentally leave your body behind for now. Think of it as a similar experience to your virtual reality pods," _the pharaoh reasoned with him._ "You will appear to others as asleep. If you don't want your little brother to think you've fallen asleep at a desk on top of your cards and he is unable to wake you, you should probably lie down as I suggested."_

"_Fine. You know," _Kaiba said as he moved across his bedroom and removed his trench coat and boots - though nothing more - on the way, _"I'm already getting real tired of all of this."_

"_I understand. This is not crucial to returning the puzzle to Yugi, but I wanted to make sure you get to see this, in case I'm not around to help you to do so very long. I think it will help you understand yourself better than you have before."_

"_And why do I need to do that? I already know who I am."_

"_Trust me, Kaiba. You will be thankful when this is over." _He chuckled lightly, _"Even if you won't actually admit it. Now I need you to close your eyes."_ He did so._ "Imagine yourself as separated from your body."_

"_What? How do I…" _But he didn't finish his question. He opened his eyes and saw his body lying on his own bed, while he stood above himself. It gave him an eerie feeling.

"Now that wasn't so hard, was it?

The CEO examined himself in his new state. "Now I can see through my own self? This is getting out of hand."

The pharaoh ignored his concerns. "In this state, you are capable of anything you imagine. Are you familiar with the concept of a lucid dream?"

"I understand it, but I haven't ever experienced one firsthand."

"Consider this state we are currently in to be similar. You are in control of what you do, think, say and feel, and you will remember all of this when you wake. You cannot interact with objects you see around you now, but you and I can now interact with each other." Kaiba's face slowly grew into a nervous expression.

"And just what did you have in mind…?" Kaiba asked apprehensively.

"Not whatever you're thinking, I assure you." In response to Kaiba's confused expression, the pharaoh explained further. "Just as thoughts are no longer completely private between us, we also have the ability to feel each others' emotions. The only reason I mentioned that we can now interact with one another is because of this…" The pharaoh stretched out his hand and wrapped it around one of the taller man's wrists. Before Kaiba was even able to protest, their surroundings changed drastically. The two men were no longer in Seto Kaiba's private bedroom, but in an unfamiliar and dimly lit hallway. The spirit dropped Kaiba's wrist.

"_This_ is what I was talking about earlier, when you said you didn't understand. We are within your mind. You can see there are two doors here. Normally, if one was able to access this realm of their mind on their own, there would only be one door, and most often, it would consist of a single room. I am not accustomed to being in this particular hallway, for it is within your mind, as opposed to Yugi's. The door you see on your left is the door to your own 'mind's room', and the one on the right is mine. If you travel through your door, you will be capable of discovering parts of yourself that your consciousness keeps hidden." Kaiba opened his mouth to speak but the spirit stopped him. "You might _think_ you do no such thing, but I believe that is what every man assumes, though it is true for none. You are free to roam whatever lies beyond your door." Kaiba glanced at it with curiosity masked in skepticism.

"I offer you a few words of caution, however, Kaiba. Yugi's 'mind's room' is nothing more than just that: a small, plain, four-walled room. However, mine, which you are welcome to explore as you desire, is an endless labyrinth. These rooms reflect the secrets ours minds are holding, however few or numerous they may be."

"How do you know all of this? Although… I could just as well assume you're making it all up as you go."

The pharaoh sighed. "A man from Egypt by the name of Shadi once intruded in Yugi's mind, with the use of his millennium key. He explained all of this to Yugi and myself then. He also informed me that it is not typical for one's room to be so complex as my own. Kaiba, although you may disagree, you and I are not all _that_ different from one another."

"Hmph." Was all he had to say in response.

"We are both determined, strong-willed individuals, and I will admit that, like you, I don't take kindly to having my personal space invaded."

"Interesting personality trait for a parasite…" Kaiba spat.

"Yes, well…" The pharaoh decided to ignore his remark rather than respond. "My warning to you is this: regardless of which door you choose to enter, at any time, tread cautiously. For within a mind that desires no intrusion, you may run into deadly traps - even within your own room, as I often have in mine. These traps come in many varieties and no one but the walls themselves know where they lie. A single brick in the floor that had done no harm over one hundred journeys through, may turn out to be the death of you with no warning. I do not know what lies beyond the door to your mind's room, and I shall not enter without your consent, but I suggest that you never let your guard down while you're here. If you fall into one of the many traps that may be lying in wait, your body will not wake up."

"Then why did you bring me here, if it's supposedly so dangerous?"

"Because it is important for you to understand yourself, Kaiba. While you're here you may learn a great deal about yourself - or me, if you desire." The pharaoh turned to face his own door and gripped the handle to pull it open as he had done many times before. When the men's eyes had adjusted to the light coming from the room, the pharaoh turned to Kaiba and spoke. "_This_ is why I said I spend most of my time within the puzzle." Kaiba peered into the doorway.

"It… looks like the inside of a pyramid."

"Which is what the puzzle resembles. When you are ready to leave, Kaiba, all you must do is think it and it will be so. The same goes for if you desire to return another time. Just remember to be conscious of how your body will look if anybody sees it while you're in this state, if that sort of thing matters to you. Lastly, if you need assistance with anything after this point, you need only to call out to me and I will be able to find you - though I doubt you would wish me to help in the first place. I wish you the best of luck."

Kaiba nodded, but as the pharaoh was about to slip through his own door, Kaiba stopped him by asking, almost casually, "What will happen to the puzzle in my possession, were I to die?"

The pharaoh turned to study his rival before answering. "To tell you the truth, I do not know. If I were to guess, I would expect that it may shatter, and I would be forced to lie in wait here once again, until the next person who is destined to solve the puzzle comes along. And who knows how long that might take?"

Kaiba said nothing more, but turned to face his own door. Slowly, his fingers gripped the handle, and he pulled.

* * *

Kaiba stepped into a dark room, which made even the dim light of the hallway comparable to daylight. He couldn't tell how big it was, but it felt cramped. Cautiously, he put one foot forward, and then another. The floor was smooth and hard; it clicked underneath his heels as he stepped. There seemed to be a source of light, though weak, that moved when he did and centered on himself, almost as though it were emanating from his very core. The further he stepped into the room, the brighter the light centered on him grew. Finally, he was able to make out his surroundings.

The clean, white walls were entirely bare of decoration of any sort, but a ghastly fissure was forming on the wall to his right, and it snaked down to the bottom corner of the wall straight ahead, and finally spreading into spider web-like cracks across a large portion of the floor.

Tucked away in a far corner was a wooden pedestal. On it rested a small portrait. The frame contained a photograph of his parents, before they had died. The frame was silver, plain. It was only large enough to hold a five-by-eight photograph. It would hardly have been noticeable if Kaiba hadn't been looking for details.

There was other furniture in this room. Each piece was modern and stylish, arranged in an orderly way. A plush leather armchair sat at the head of a semi-circle of other chairs, matching, but smaller. Each was made with white leather, and gleaming silver studs protruded nicely out of the front of each arm. In the center of the half-circle was a low oak coffee table, finely polished. Standing proudly atop the table and off to one side was another silver picture frame, this one larger and far more elegant. It contained an eight-by-eleven portrait of Mokuba, his large violet eyes smiling up at him, bursting with admiration and pure, innocent joy.

Next to the second frame, centered on the table, was a vase filled with rare, expensive flowers. Aside from the portraits, it appeared to be the only color in the room.

They were dying.

The petals were drooping and falling off. Many that had already reached the tabletop had curled up and turned brown. The once-vibrant green leaves had dried and the stems were now a deep, soggy color, and were buckling under the weight of the flower heads.

Kaiba stepped closer to the table and plucked one of the dying flowers from the crystal vase. Finding little else to do, he held the wilted white lily close to see it better in the light that still centered on him, and flicked the petals that remained through the air. All that remained in his hand was a sickly green stem and little wispy, powdery, stems of pollen at one end. He tossed it onto the nearest white chair, not caring that he might spoil the clean color with the yellow pollen.

Now that he was closer to the low table, however, he was able to detect a negligible detail in his brother's portrait, and picked it up to examine it. Sure enough, he quickly noticed that the image in the frame was not a photograph, but a painting, done by a skilled hand. The paint was beginning to crack. His dear brother's face, in the brighter lighting, had traded in its innocence for the look of a forgotten porcelain doll, slowly shattering over time.

Kaiba set the photo down to explore further, only to stop, unable to find anything new to examine. The walls were bare and he could see no other exits from the room.

Unsure of what else to do, Kaiba called out._"…Pharaoh?"_ There were a few moments of silence before he heard footsteps in the distance growing louder, until the reached the outside of his closed door.

"Kaiba," the spirit called from outside of the man's door. "Unless you are in danger, I feel it is unwise for me to enter your room at this time."

"I'm not in any danger."

"Then I feel it is best that you explore your mind on your own for now. I may join you at a later time if you desire a new perspective. I understand this may be confusing at the present, but for now I think you will benefit the most from figuring this out on your own." Kaiba said nothing, and soon heard the footsteps drift away again.

He decided to sit and think through what these things might mean, or what any of it really had to do with him. Upon choosing a seat, he naturally gravitated toward the head armchair to ponder the situation. Once he was seated, much to his surprise, the room changed drastically before his eyes.

The chair he sat in turned from white to gold - not just in color but also in material. The room grew to at least ten times its previous size, and became significantly brighter. The furniture was now brilliant gold and heavily decorated. There were guards with painfully sharp-looking spears standing watch at each side of the entrance to the room, as well as one on each side of the throne he sat upon.

On the end table next to his seat lay a small hand mirror, which he picked up to examine himself. To his shock, he no longer looked like Seto Kaiba. He appeared to be a few years older and his skin was now a deep copper color - no longer the pale porcelain he was used to.

Kaiba noted that even his clothing had changed. Instead of the black cashmere turtleneck and black jeans he had worn for work, he was now covered by a blue silk tunic and a white kilt. Gold trim laced around his neckline and over his shoulders, and heavy gold topped his shoulders and armbands clung to his wrists. His headdress matched the rest of his apparel; blue silk with gold trimmings.

Directly across the throne room, in plain view from his throne, heavy violet curtains hung on the far wall, partially obscuring an enormous portrait. All Kaiba could make out was that the subject was a woman; what he could see of her skin appeared particularly pale and delicate.

Kaiba decided he had had about enough of this place, and removed himself from the golden chair. In an instant, the room returned to the way it looked when he first had entered. As he stood from the throne, he noticed he had held the millennium puzzle in his lap just in time for it to fall off of him and vanish with the rest of the room.

Once he returned to the hallway, he closed his eyes and tried to _think_ himself back to his body, with immediate success. He sat up with a start, on his bed, in his own bedroom.

"_What the hell was all that?" _The pharaoh appeared to him, translucent, sitting on the foot of his bed.

"_Interesting, was it not?"_

"_I don't even understand what happened. At first I was in a particular room, and the next moment it was completely different. _I_ was completely different. All I did was sit down in a damned chair."_

"_I should warn you for the next time you intend to return, these rooms also have a tendency to change as we do. Remember, the rooms are a reflection of our minds."_

Kaiba looked at the man with a furrowed brow. _"What reason would I have to go back there?"_

"_You won't return? But I think doing so would be best for you, Kaiba."_

"_You think a lot of things I don't agree with." _Kaiba spat. _"I've had enough of this. Go away and let me sleep."_

"_As you wish."_


	5. Turnabout

A/N: Hello again everyone, and thank you so much for continuing to follow my postings! Again, thank you especially to A Splendid Guest, Deck Divination, and Yami E for reviewing! I certainly appreciate the favorites and follows, as always, but your written feedback – good or bad – really helps me get a grasp on how you guys really feel about this story, so anything you have to say is most helpful! (Like I said, I'm new at this!)

I will be responding to a couple of reviews after the chapter. Now then, shall we?

* * *

"_Kaiba."_

"Son of a…!" Kaiba jumped, nearly dropping his pen as he sat at his desk, working. _"_Don't_ do that. I thought you said you were going to leave me alone."_

"_And I would like to be able to do so, but as I said…"_

"_Yeah, I get it." _Kaiba rubbed his face with both hands, frustrated._ "You need me to contact Yugi. But I still don't see how he's going to be able to defeat me."_

"_It isn't exactly like you'll lose anything by winning. It could at least be worth a try."_

"_It'll be a waste of my time. I'd prefer to just get it over with once and not have to deal with any more of this supernatural bullshit."_

"_You still consider it as such when the proof is right here?"_

"_Don't be so sure of yourself. After all, I still haven't entirely written off the possibility that I've finally snapped."_

The pharaoh resisted rolling his eyes. After all, he'd known Kaiba long enough by now to understand he might feel this way.

"_The least you could do, Kaiba, is allow me a way to speak to my dear friend and let him know I'm alright."_

"_Hmph," _was Kaiba's only response.

"_I'm actually a little surprised he hasn't contacted _you_ yet,"_ the pharaoh pondered, mostly to himself, although once he'd thought the words he felt his host tense slightly, and he raised an eyebrow at this.

"_Yugi… has not attempted to contact you, has he Kaiba?"_

A pause. Silence.

"…_He has."_

"_And you did not inform me of this?"_

"_I saw no reason to,"_ he dismissed.

"_Did you at least let him know what has happened? What must be done?"_

"_I didn't speak to him directly. A note was left on my desk that he, among others, had tried to call my office while I was out. I haven't gotten back to him. Returning phone calls isn't exactly the most crucial part of my position as president."_

"_Still, I see no reason why you can't do so now. You are sitting right next to a telephone."_

"_Because I'm working. And I wish not to be bothered by your supernatural nonsense while I'm trying to do so, thank you very much."_ Kaiba barked with gratitude so obviously fake, it hurt.

Well, not really. But the pharaoh couldn't deny he was quickly losing patience with the man he had agreed to leave alone. How much longer could he keep this up before he had to go back on his word? Disagreeable though Kaiba may be, the former Egyptian king did want to do as he'd promised for the CEO. But he _needed_ to reconnect with his hikari; the world as it is may depend on it.

"Mr. Kaiba," the CEO's receptionist called his attention over his intercom. "A miss Ishtar is calling for you again, on line one." Kaiba rolled his eyes. _Now what?_

"_Ishtar? Kaiba, that would have to be Ishizu!"_

"_I gathered that."_ He remarked to the pharaoh._ "Wasn't she on the list of people I needed to call back?" _Kaiba added, clearly not addressing the pharaoh.

"_She must have heard about your duel with Yugi. Kaiba, please take this call."_ The brunet grumbled under his breath but ordered his assistant to put the call through.

"Yes?"

"Kaiba. I am relieved you have finally taken my call. You have been difficult to contact. I will make this as brief as I can manage. I realize ownership of the millennium puzzle has shifted to you. I will refrain from boring you with all of the details, but you must believe me when I tell you that this is a serious situation, and it must be remedied immediately."

"Why?" Kaiba asked disbelieving.

"Because the longer you hold onto the object, Kaiba, people will suffer."

"What leads you to believe that would be a concern of mine?"

"Simply the fact that one of those people is you, Kaiba."

"Is that supposed to be a threat? Please, pardon me if I'm not intimidated."

"It is not a threat. I understand quite clearly that you do not want this. I am contacting you to inform you of a way to right what has been wronged, however unintentionally so. It is not complicated, and should take little of your time."

"Fine. What are you trying to sell me?"

"You must contact Yugi and make arrangements for you to battle him once again. Furthermore, Kaiba, you must _lose_ this game."

"I already know that's what I have to do. But why you people actually think I'm going to lose a duel on purpose is beyond me."

"However you manage the task is up to you, as long as Yugi is the victor. If you insist on allowing your pride to get the best of you, then so be it. It will only make this harder on you in the end."

"Whatever. Was that all? I would like to get back to work sometime today."

"No, there is one more thing. I should wish to speak with my pharaoh."

"You… _What_?"

"It is not difficult. I assume he has spoken to you directly in the time you have been bonded? Yugi has asked me to learn of his whereabouts to ease his mind. If you are unsure as to how, I can inform you. All that you must do is allow the pharaoh to channel his essence through you, that he may be dominant in your body."

"_What?_" Kaiba hissed. "Look, I don't know exactly what you're rattling on about, miss Ishtar, but from my perspective, none of what you've just said sounds the _least_ bit inviting, and I have no intentions of allowing-"

"_Kaiba, please. It will only take a moment. There is nothing you need to do but allow me to take over."_

"_Take over? Take over what? My body? I don't think so!"_

"_I only wish to speak with Ishizu. I will do your vessel no harm."_

"My _vessel_?" Kaiba spoke sternly aloud, entirely disregarding that he was in the middle of a phone call. "I wasn't even aware you had such capabilities."

"Kaiba?" Ishizu's concerned voice came across the line.

"_Forgive me, Kaiba. But I _must_ communicate with my partner. I am sorry."_ The pharaoh closed his eyes and concentrated on channeling himself past Kaiba's existing mental defenses in order to take control of his body. Because his host was unclear as to what was happening, his guard was down, and pushing past them came easily for the pharaoh.

"Ishizu."

Kaiba blinked as a strange sensation washed over him, as though blinking his eyes could wipe away the image that lay in front of him. He stood before his own body while he himself was transparent, much like the previous night when he had wandered from his own unconscious form. But if that was eerie, then _this_ was overwhelming. Watching his own body, sitting upright at his desk, even holding a telephone receiver? And speaking… _Speaking? No…_

"_No! What are you doing?"_

"_Patience, Kaiba, I promise this will not take long."_

"Am I… speaking to the pharaoh?" Ishizu asked over the phone.

"Yes, it is I, Ishizu."

"_Speaking to her, in my body? With _my_ voice? What the hell is this?"_ Kaiba's head would be spinning, were he currently attached to it.

"Wonderful! And are you doing alright?"

"Well enough. But I would like to get back to Yugi as soon as possible."

Kaiba reached out to his own body and tried to touch it, to get back in, but his transparent hands passed straight through his own flesh. He jerked his arm back, eyes wide.

"_What have you done to me?! I _demand_ that you fix this at once!"_ Despite his sense of urgency, Kaiba's orders went ignored.

"Of course." Ishizu replied to the pharaoh. "Your friends and I are all working to make that happen, but much of this depends on Kaiba. This means that the task of convincing him to battle Yugi falls to your shoulders, if my words have not gotten through to him."

"I understand. I will do what I can. What he will allow me, I should say."

"Is there anything you wish for me to convey to Yugi?"

"Only that I am alright, and please ensure that he knows what actions must be taken."

"He does. I have discussed that with him already."

"Excellent. Then no, there is nothing more I wish to say to him at this time. I have high hopes that he and I will speak again soon."

"I shall do my part that it may be so. I bid you a good day, my king." Kaiba's receptionist chose this moment to enter his employer's office, but stood silently in the doorway waiting for the call to end.

"Good day, Ishizu. Thank you so much for calling."

The pharaoh, currently in control of the CEO's body, turned his face - Kaiba's face - to look at his spirit form standing to his left, and flashed him a nearly-indiscernible grin.

"_You!"_ He gave a low, menacing growl._ "Give it back! Now!"_ He ignored any concept of how childish he might sound. He was growing increasingly frustrated that he was unable to touch anything, or even speak for anyone but the pharaoh to hear him. What good were body guards against such a leech anyhow! He fought against the panic steadily rising in his mind.

Now that another had joined the room the Egyptian had to resist the urge to laugh while in control of his host. Instead, he closed his eyes and relinquished his position to Kaiba's spirit. Outwardly, the brunet's face slipped from playful glee into a scowling mask in an instant, and the young woman in the room shrunk back from the sudden change.

Kaiba rolled his shoulders and cracked his neck, internally forcing himself to calm down. He did this partly to put on a show of transitioning from his private phone call back into "business mode" in front of his employee, but also in part to readjust to his body from its recent intrusion.

"What is it" He asked with a direct tone.

"Sir, pardon the disruption but I came to remind you of the list of contacts wishing for you to call them back."

"I've seen it. I just got off the phone with one of them. Is that all?"

"Yes, sir. That is all." She bowed and exited the office. The instant the door was shut, Kaiba's eyes locked onto the spirit like a predator. He spoke, though not through his mind. He was beginning to find that he far preferred the ability to utilize volume of his vocal bands for emphasis. Still, he spoke in a low tone, voice dripping with venom.

"If you _ever_ try that on me again, so help you god, I will end you. And if I cannot find a proper way of doing so, then I will opt to destroying _everything_ you hold dear."

The Egyptian's playful mood dissolved instantly. _"Kaiba, please do not take this to such an extreme. My actions caused no harm."_

"_No harm? You've got to be joking! You _stole_ my _body_. Please explain to me how that equates to 'no harm'?"_ He did not give the other an opportunity to answer. _"This was far worse a violation than it would be to have my home burglarized. How was I to know you have the ability to take over like that at any time? It essentially leaves me with zero control of my life, or even my own flesh and bones."_

"_That is not true. I was only able to overtake your mental defenses that would keep me from doing that because you did not yet know to have any in place. Now that you know what letting me have control feels like, you can prevent it by resisting me and shutting me out."_ Yami almost regretted telling Kaiba how to stop him from repeating his actions in the future, lest he find himself in another situation where he needed to communicate and Kaiba refused to cooperate. However, he resolved that earning the trust of his host in this situation may prove to be more valuable. _"You do not need to learn how to use this ability - you are already doing so. I can feel you pushing me back from you. I would not have the strength to overtake your body again. In the end it comes down to a sheer battle of will,"_ he finished explaining. He had the faintest suspicion that Kaiba had stopped listening, as he had turned his attention to his computer, likely trying to retain his grip on reality.

"_Still think you're losing your mind?"_

"_Shut up."_

* * *

Eesh. Well then...

This response gets a little lengthy – sorry! Someone has asked me a question in review that I can actually address without spoilers! Yami E, in regard to the dueling – no, I will not be writing out an entire game of Duel Monsters in this story. I have a very simplistic grasp on the game that would make playing out a strategic, captivating game and capturing it in writing would be very difficult for me. I have other stories in-progress that I write parts of a whole duel, but that's about as far as I ever take it with writing. I'm too afraid I'll bore you guys!

However, I am taking a page out of season 0 with the inspiration of some of this story. By that, I mean I've included games aside from Duel Monsters, much like the first series anime and original manga contained. For anyone not familiar with this, Yami defeated his opponents in varying ways that didn't even always involve cards at all during the earlier bits of the original story.

And I apologize for not answering a review of my first chapter left by PoisonIvy1998 in regard to Yami's appearance. We all (hopefully) know how this whole series ends, and that we get to see the pharaoh's actual form in the world of his memories. How I understand it, you're right – Yami and Yugi look alike naturally, so he would keep his own appearance while Kaiba is his host. But outwardly, I have determined that Kaiba ought to still look and sound like himself. Did it make anyone else twitch in season 3 when Noah stole Mokuba's body but kept his own voice in the real world? I didn't want to do that here. Hopefully you agree!

Thank you all again for reading and your continued support! I hope to see you all next week!


	6. Feud

A/N: I really hoped you guys would have as much fun as I did with chapter 5! :) I'm so happy that so many of you seemed to have found humor in my last chapter. It may have been a very serious moment for Kaiba, but who says the rest of us (and Yami) can't get a chuckle out of it? I certainly had a whole lot of fun writing that scene. In fact, I've been having more fun writing this whole piece than possibly anything I've written before.

For clarification of sequence, this chapter picks up immediately after the last one ended. I had originally had the two postings as one chapter but ended up extending them both so much that it equated to two decent-length chapters, at least in relation to what I typically post. So it had to be split up.

Also, I'm going with the preface that canon mostly takes place in Japan, and at the end of Battle City, Kaiba and Mokuba leave for America to build KaibaLand. Since they seem to be at the very beginning of the project at that point, I feel I can take the liberty to assume it's an extensive project, and for this story to work I needed them to come back to Domino, before it's finished. That's where we are now.

* * *

Kaiba had gone back to his paperwork, leaving the Egyptian to his thoughts, but after droning on in silence for an hour or so after, he set down his pen. Glancing up at the translucent face standing before him, he picked up the receiver on his desk, and dialed.

"_I'm not doing this for you, so just_ _shut it."_ Kaiba muttered through the mental link.

"Mr. Mutou. This is Kaiba. I wish to speak with Yugi if he's available."

"Kaiba! Yugi has been hoping he might hear back from you soon. There is much that needs to be done-"

"Spare me, will you? I know what has to be done. Just put him on the line. I don't have all day." There was a slight shuffling and indistinct words in the background, then Yugi's voice came on.

"Kaiba. I'm so glad you called. I just got off the phone with Ishizu. She said she recently spoke to you."

"Yugi. I-"

"_Kaiba, may I speak with him?"_ The pharaoh interrupted, void of expectations.

"…_What_? _No. I can handle this." I am _not_ letting that happen again._ The pharaoh had assumed that would be Kaiba's answer, but he was too excited to hear from his dear friend not to ask, at least.

"Kaiba?"

"Pardon me," he disregarded his brief silence. "I think we both understand a match is in order?"

"Well, Kaiba, I know the rules of this whole thing require me to defeat you in a duel in order to get my puzzle back, but I spoke with Ishizu about this, and she said something interesting. It gave me an idea that might make this whole thing a lot easier for both of us. You probably understand a lot better now than ever before what it means to be linked with the spirit of the puzzle."

It seemed to be a question, and Yugi paused for Kaiba to reply, but the CEO gave no response. Yugi went on.

"And to be honest with myself, I'm really not sure I could beat you playing fairly in Duel Monsters without his help."

"_Even he admits they've been cheating."_ Kaiba thought to himself, knowing full well that Yugi's other half could hear this, but not able to bring himself to bother caring.

"_Yugi could fare quite well against Kaiba. If he would only give himself more credit…"_ the pharaoh thought, though Kaiba was unsure whether it was simply in reply to what Yugi had said, or if he also didn't care if the person he was sharing a body with had heard his last thought.

"Then what are you suggesting?"

"Well, the ancient games weren't played with the Duel Monsters game we play, since the game that Pegasus created wasn't around yet. So I was thinking that maybe we don't have to actually _duel_ for this to get resolved. There may be other games we could play that might work better for our situation. Do you think it would it be possible for me to meet up with you somewhere? I think it would be easier for us to work something out."

Kaiba groaned inwardly. But even though he wouldn't admit it aloud (nor in his head for the spirit to hear), he understood that the fastest way rid himself of his "problem" would be to deal with it directly, regardless of the fact that he would much rather smash the golden pyramid to pieces and stash it in a shoe box in the back of his closet so he could simply pretend the whole mess away and move on with reality.

Out loud, he simply agreed to Yugi's request, and set up a time early that evening for them to meet at the Kaiba mansion.

* * *

Kaiba rubbed at his temples.

"_For the love of… will you _please_ leave me be for five fucking minutes? Is that really too much to ask?"_ He all but begged, conveying all the sincerity he could muster.

"_I haven't said a word in hours, Kaiba." _It didn't matter. He was there. Kaiba could feel his presence, could sense his emotions. He could _feel_ the anxiety growing in the smaller man as the day wore on, and try as he might, Kaiba could not ignore it. To say that operating on two planes of his consciousness simultaneously was giving him a headache would be a massive understatement. It did not help that this day was not running smoothly as he had hoped.

He had finally gotten out of a video conference with a few of the higher-ups from one of KaibaCorp's biggest rivaling companies. They wanted him to form a partnership. He had wasted nearly an hour more of his time than he had budgeted for talking in circles with the businessmen, trying use logic with them and straining to find polite ways to tell them to shove it up their asses. He had eventually run out of nice ways to phrase it and had to end the call, more abruptly than was strictly appropriate in typical business conduct.

The way things looked at present, he would not be out of his office until at least eight at night. He had agreed to meet Yugi at six.

"_So, perhaps you cannot make it to challenge Yugi tonight." _the pharaoh had said._ "I understand. Reschedule for tomorrow instead. He won't be happy about it, but he will understand."_

"_I doubt it. You see, I don't think there's anything short of a time machine that can get me home in time for this. However, I have to anyway. Quite the paradox, I know,"_ he said in response to the confusion he sensed from his "parasite". _"The reason being that I will not be able to reschedule for tomorrow. Or the next day... Or any day for the next two months,"_ he said after a pause.

"_Excuse me?"_

Kaiba closed his laptop and stood, turning his full attention to the barely-there image of the former king who stood before him.

"_You and your precious little friend can have some freaking patience for a few weeks. Me, on the other hand? I've booked a business trip to go back to the US for that time to continue the preparations of my next KaibaCorp project, and I leave tonight. No, I cannot reschedule, nor postpone, nor cut my trip short. No, I will not be able to spare any time during this trip even if Yugi were able to fly to northern California to meet me, as I've barely scheduled any time for sleep and meals. Lastly, and most importantly, I do _not_ want to deal with you while I'm there. I will find a way to meet with Yugi tonight if it kills me."_

Kaiba picked up his briefcase and strode through the translucent image, daring not to shiver at the eerie feeling of doing so, and approached the door to his office. He stopped to check over his appearance in a mirror hanging on the wall nearby, straightened his pinstriped tie, and stalked down the hall, toward whatever other tasks still required his attention today.

* * *

Seto Kaiba was not a man who could often be attributed to tardiness. Moreover, Seto Kaiba was not a man who enjoyed being proven wrong.

He was not dead, that was true enough. However, here he was, stepping over the threshold of his mansion's master bedroom, at nearly nine at night. He had been at the office all evening trying to rush through his work, but it had just been one of _those_ days. Not only had he had to call Yugi back to cancel, he had even been forced to call upon his house servants to pack a few suitcases for him, as he found he couldn't be bothered to do it himself.

And there it was. Kaiba was not dead, but his every attempt to rid himself of his new golden burden before his trip had failed. Now here he stood in his bedroom clenching the trinket (retrieved from his briefcase in which he kept it) in his hand, fighting the urge to smash it to bits against the wall. Fighting, and slowly - very slowly - losing his resolve on just why he shouldn't do it.

"_Kaiba…"_ Came the voice he knew would come, to try to talk him out of destroying his item. _His item_, the pharaoh echoed in a whisper of a thought, not speaking it mentally for Kaiba to hear. The king was beginning to truly understand that the millennium puzzle, really and truly, did belong to Kaiba now. He was free to do with it what he chose. And if that meant dismantling it and ridding the Egyptian of his link to Yugi, and possibly the 21st century as well, he had every right to. It would not be kind or fair, but still, he had the power to do so. The pharaoh, understanding just how close his unstable host was to utterly destroying his future and altering his destiny, could only hope to convince the man of a better way.

Kaiba sighed and blew the hair out of his eyes in the same breath.

"_I'm not going to do it."_ He assured the other, and let the puzzle drop the short distance out of his hand and onto his nightstand, not bothering to care if he had dented the expensive wooden piece. _"But I want to. And then this entire ordeal could be over as quickly as it had started."_

"_It could have been over already if you'd met with Yugi earlier this morning."_

"_And then I'd have been out of my office too late to catch a flight out tonight, and likely be late for my first meeting when I arrive. Not worth the risk," _he snapped, but with little conviction, likely due to his long day, and the fatigue setting in._ "And I'm seriously starting to wonder if that bit you fed me about getting to duel you again is worth my sanity."_

"_Either way, it's too late to do much about it now. You'll just have to make it through your trip and back here to Yugi, while I tag along for the ride."_ He smiled, trying to make light of the situation. Kaiba was having none of it. He narrowed his eyes dangerously.

"_I'm warning you now, if you give me any reason during my business dealings to shut you up - permanently - don't think I'll hesitate. I'm just about done with this crap as it is. I'm not certain I can tolerate a whole two months of you inside my head. Just don't forget who's in control here."_

The pharaoh gave the CEO a menacing glare, but said nothing as he slowly vanished from Kaiba's consciousness.

A steady knock came to his bedroom door. Kaiba quickly stowed the puzzle in his briefcase out of view before granting access to his visitor.

"You know, Seto, you came home pretty late last night, too." Mokuba greeted his brother, instead of his usual cheery 'Welcome home, Seto!'.

"I know, Mokuba." The businessman had not even yet bothered to remove his coat and shoes. Fatigue was knitted across his features. "But I don't have much control over that. It's a busy season."

"But it feels like I never get to see you anymore."

"Never? Mokuba, that seems a little extreme. We see each other every day."

"Not really…" His tone was low. "We see each other every _night_, for, like, ten minutes before you're back to working on something or one of us has to go to sleep."

"You really _must_ stop over-exaggerating."

"Am I really exaggerating that much?" Mokuba was skeptical.

"I've been home early enough to have dinner with you three times this week."

"Yeah, well… I remember when Gozaburo had you studying so hard all the time that we never got to spend any time together." Kaiba grimly recalled the days of oppression to which his little brother referred. "I thought one of the reasons we took over KaibaCorp was so it wouldn't be like that anymore. But is this really much different?"

"I get the feeling that this is about to turn into a discussion regarding more than just my coming home late. What's really going on, Mokuba? And must this really be regarded now?"

"Seto, you're leaving _tonight_, for two whole months! But you just got home. Were you even going to stop in and say goodbye to me before you left?" Kaiba was taken aback by his little brother's accusation, and was left unable to respond. Mokuba was lost in his rant now and barely seemed to notice, so he went on. "I guess… I just get tired of being by myself so often. I mean, I see you at the office but then you're in 'work mode' and it's not really the same as actually spending time with you. You're more like a robot when that happens. It's starting to feel like the only thing that really matters to you these days is work, and dueling."

"You know that isn't true!"

"Wanna bet?" Mokuba muttered so low that Kaiba was unable to make out what he'd said. His gesture for the boy to repeat himself went ignored, and Kaiba's anger flared.

"So you want to complain about my behavior but you don't want to cooperate when I try to conduct a structured discussion about it?" Mokuba crossed his arms and stared at the floor, but didn't answer. "You were on my side yesterday when you were defending my honor at Yugi's shop. What happened to that?"

"Right," Mokuba rolled his eyes, "because you can take time off of work in the middle of the day when your driver calls to tell you that someone's insulting your dueling, but you can't take twenty minutes and have lunch with me when I'm at KaibaCorp with you?"

"Don't turn this against me." His voice was stern and defensive. "I showed up because our driver was concerned you were going to get into a physical fight with someone twice your size, and as I recall, I showed up just in time to stop that from happening!"

"Even so, that still doesn't explain why you won't let me come with you to help build KaibaLand this time. I thought we were supposed to work on it together."

Kaiba clenched his jaw, trying not to lose his temper. "We've been over this several times by now. You have schoolwork to complete and if I bring you along you'll end up trying to involve yourself in what I'm doing so much you won't finish your own work."

"I'm already ahead of other kids my age because I have my tutors. So what if I fall behind by a few months?"

"That's exactly the attitude I'm trying to keep you from developing! KaibaCorp is _my_ job. Schoolwork is _yours_. Do not allow yourself to be confused about this." Kaiba checked his watch, and took a slow breath, lowering his tone. "You know Mokuba, I _was_ going to make sure I took time to _properly_ say goodbye to you tonight. In fact, that's really the only good reason I had for coming back here at all tonight. I could have had someone else pick up my luggage. But it seems your argument has run me out of time. You should be in bed by now." He wrapped his fingers around the handle of the small suitcase which had been waiting on his bed. The other, larger two would be sitting in the trunk of the limo currently waiting to take him to his jet. "I have to go. I'll call you when I arrive at the hotel." Kaiba pulled his suitcase off the mattress and lifted his steel briefcase off the floor with the other hand. He pushed past his brother but stopped in the doorway.

"Seto…" Mokuba had notably calmed, but was still not feeling anywhere near his normal cheerful self. Kaiba ignored whatever the little one seemed like he was about to say. Whether he'd done so on purpose or not, however, Mokuba couldn't tell.

"Mind Isono. As we've already discussed, I'm leaving him in charge of you. Stay out of trouble - _and I mean it_, Mokuba. If KaibaCorp is going to have any chance of getting this park built by the deadline we've set, I cannot afford the time to come all the way back here for _anything_ short of an absolute emergency."

"Yeah, I know." Mokuba said with a bitter undertone.

Kaiba checked the time once more. "Stay safe. Goodnight, little brother," words that should have been comforting, had they not sounded so cold. The billionaire didn't spare a glance at the boy before he stepped out of the room and down the hall, leaving Mokuba alone, watching after him. He didn't say a word, or even move from his position until he heard the large double doors on the lower level open and close. He wrapped his thin arms around himself and sank back against the door frame of his brother's bedroom, hiccupping as he choked back tears, of both frustration and dejection.

* * *

Thank you to everyone who has been reading, and a special thank you to all of those who reviewed! I really appreciate all of the support. The list is getting a bit extensive! Just to address a few specific points:

Yami E – there is some puzzleshipping and prideshipping in other stories I have in the works (as well as some mxf pairings too), but no, my intention is not to bring yaoi into this story. This is not a romance. I don't tend to focus a lot of my stories on love, regardless of genders. I agree, there is a lot of that on here, and I like to mix things up a little. :)

Kittenseal – cute name! Thank you for the compliment! I try to get the characters as close to real as I can, but everyone has their own interpretation, so I'm always happy to hear that mine match up with someone else's.

And for everyone else, I'm glad to hear you enjoyed. See you next time!


	7. Formula For A Scheme

A/N: So, last week's chapter was a little slow, and it ended on a bit of a sad note. I'd like to try to make up for that this week, since this chapter is a little slow as well (and a bit short), but it's necessary for some set-up. Therefore, I'm posting two chapters this week! I hope chapter seven isn't too confusing, but it should make more sense once things get moving.

Thank you for bearing with me, and I promise the action will be picking back up again! And as always, thank you to everyone who reviewed this week! I really appreciate the feedback. Well, here goes chapter seven, and I hope you enjoy!

* * *

"_No. I refuse to deal with you right now. If you decide to pester me anyway, you will not be acknowledged."_ Kaiba proclaimed the moment Yami appeared to him, before allowing him to say a word through their mental link.

"_Ignore me if you wish. That will not stop me from trying to communicate."_ Kaiba did not respond, nor make any indication he'd even heard the Egyptian.

"_Kaiba, this situation has gotten out of hand."_ Still silence from the spirit's host. He had begun readying himself for bed after an especially exhausting day. _"But an idea has come to me that might help to straighten this out for everybody involved."_

"Isn't that fantastic?" Kaiba finally responded, aloud, though his enthusiasm was thick with sarcasm. "You can tell me all about it when my business trip ends… six weeks from now." He added mentally, surely not forgetting that the spirit could hear his thoughts, _"I wonder what would happen if I just took a few pieces of it apart, instead of smashing the _whole_ thing… Would it still make him go away? …Perhaps it may be time for me to consider seeing a shrink."_

Before the pharaoh could respond, however, Kaiba climbed into the queen sized bed in his hotel room and clicked off the lamp at his bedside.

"_Did you know that - according to hidden ancient history - people have been studying their mind rooms as a form of meditation? I've tried it myself, actually. It is rather enlightening. A wonderful way of getting in touch with one's true self." _Kaiba's response was to pull the covers over his shoulders and close his eyes.

"_I propose we play a game, Kaiba."_ The room remained silent. The pharaoh was not able to sense emotion of any sort coming from the other man; he wore a flawless, uncaring mask. Regardless, he continued.

"_It is, after all, the only way to test my new theory."_ Nothing._ "It won't take long." _This time, the brunet gritted his teeth. "_And I assure you it will not detract from your sleep."_ He sighed, eyes still closed. _"If my idea works, you could be rid of me as soon as tonight."_

"Alright, _what_? _What_ do you want from me?" Kaiba shouted aloud, throwing back the covers and sitting up in his bed.

The pharaoh smirked, pleased to finally get a reaction. _"You'll need to come with me again, like I had you do the first night of this whole fiasco."_

"_And then?"_

"_And then we shall play a game, in the domain of our minds." _Kaiba sighed again.

"_Whatever."_ He repeated the steps taken the first time Yami had taken him to his mind's room. He briefly wished he hadn't chosen to participate in this venture wearing his silk nightclothes. When the two men were standing in the hallway containing two chambers, the pharaoh began to explain himself.

"I would like for you to understand something, Kaiba. My dear friend Yugi, the _intended_ owner of the millennium puzzle, refers to me at times as "mo hitori no boku" - "my other self". I feel the same of him. We have grown to believe in the time we have spent sharing a body as you and I are now, that we are each the second half of the other's soul." Kaiba opened his mouth to speak but Yami held up his hand. "I don't need to hear your opinion. Believe it or not Kaiba, but this is not all about you. Therefore it doesn't matter whether you believe, or agree, or if you even care. As long as you're not actively trying to hinder me, you're helping." Kaiba thought that over.

"…I can live with that."

"I theorize that if Yugi and I _are_ two parts of one soul, then it may just be the case that _I_ may be able to win the puzzle back from you in Yugi's place. If this were to happen, I believe you may be able to return the item to Yugi when you return to Domino. Or perhaps even have one of your employees do so for you."

"I don't much care about the details of what's going on, but I'm beginning to grow interested in this plan of yours."

"Excellent." Yami said with conviction. "Then shall we begin?"

"I suppose… So if I understand correctly, the point of you bringing me back here is to defeat me in a game, and if you're successful, you'll go away."

"If my theory is true, then yes. That is the idea."

"But if it turns out you're wrong, and even if I lose, you're still in my head? Then what?"

"Then we've lost out on nothing. Your body is not conscious, therefore you will not miss out on any rest tonight. So if that were to be the case, you need only consider this a dream. And we will simply have to wait until you return to Domino to face Yugi."

"Fair enough, I suppose." He muttered. "Rules." Kaiba barked. It was clearly a demand, not a question.

"Eager, aren't we?" The pharaoh smirked. "Alright. To start off, Kaiba, you'll need your deck."

"I haven't brought it with me."

"This is your mind. Surely you have your deck memorized. Visualize it, and you will have your cards." Kaiba's thoughts flitted to his cards for but a moment, and before he could blink his deck appeared hovering in front of him at chest height. The pharaoh did the same with his own cards.

"Is this going to be a duel?"

"Not quite. Remember Kaiba, both parties desire the same outcome in this game; we both desire for me to win."

"I wouldn't exactly put it that way myself…" Kaiba murmured under his breath. The Egyptian disregarded him.

"But we both intend to play fairly. So I've set up a game in an ideal setting to give myself a small advantage. I trust you will not decline the set up."

"You still haven't explained the point of the game."

"Ah, yes. Now that we have our decks, we will each select four monster cards from our own deck, without disclosing our choices to the other. We will only be allowed three of these cards, and no others, to use during the game, but will have all four available to choose from. Any monsters may be chosen aside from fusion monsters. Ritual and effect monsters are acceptable. No tributes shall be necessary, regardless of monster level."

"Three cards, that's it? That seems a little lame. I thought this might be at least a _little_ challenging."

Yami chuckled. "But I am not yet finished, my friend. Once our monsters have been chosen, another task remains. I brought us here for one reason more than the fact that I cannot play against you while you remain conscious. This, Kaiba," the spirit gestured around himself, "shall be our playing field. It affects the game-play significantly."

"Will you get on with it?"

"Very well. The cards our opponent selects shall remain hidden until released in battle. This battle will happen when we have each reached certain milestones within a maze."

"A maze?"

"Yes. A timed maze, more specifically. You and I shall enter separate mazes so as not to cross paths with each other, which each lead to separate milestone doors, but each of these doors opens to the same room as the other's maze, and it is in these rooms that we shall meet and conduct battle. The length of the corridors and the difficulty of the maze's puzzle will be evenly matched to the other's however, although they will not be identical entirely. Once we meet within the room behind each milestone door, a battle will ensue. When the winner is decided, we shall each embark in separate directions again, until we meet in the middle for our second and third rounds.

"There shall be three milestones: three doors we must each arrive at. The first player to arrive at each milestone will be the _second_ to summon a monster to send into battle."

"I see. Second, so that the winner of each race within the maze is rewarded by knowing what monster the other has played, and thus, how to properly counter."

"You catch on quickly. There will be three rounds. Each monster may only be used once. Regardless of the result of any given round, the monsters used are to be discarded."

"Tricky. So we need to anticipate which monsters to use up and which to save for last, while not knowing which cards the other has chosen. While we each may know what four monsters are available to ourselves at the first round, not all cards will remain available so even at the end, the winner will not be decided until the game is over."

"Precisely."

"And where is this going to take place? I don't see any maze around here."

"Allow me to show you." The pharaoh gestured for Kaiba to stand to one side of the Egyptian's mind's room door, and he pulled it open. A blinding light flooded the dim hallway. When Kaiba's eyes adjusted and he was able to peer into the room, a gasp escaped his lips. The king chuckled.

"You _said_ you were keen on a challenge."

"I've seen behind this door once. It did _not_ look like this… this _complex_."

"Have you been back to visit your own chamber, Kaiba? I assume not, though surely it has been modified as well. I did say they were as ever-expanding as our own minds." He shook his head dismissively. "No matter."

The Egyptian stepped over the threshold of his room, Kaiba at his heels. "This," he spread his arms wide, gesturing to the magnitude of corridors, hallways, staircases and passageways, "shall be our maze."

"One that you likely know inside and out. I finally see the advantage you spoke of."

"Ah, Kaiba. You misunderstand." The shorter one turned around and brushed his fingers affectionately along the stone wall adjacent to the entrance. "I do not know these walls. Only _they_ know _me_."

"Excuse me?" It was only after the words had flown from his lips that Kaiba wondered if he even wanted to know what that had meant. Or if he even cared.

"They reflect my mind. My experiences. My life. I am always growing. Therefore, so are they. They are constantly observing me, and molding themselves to mirror me. But what man truly knows his own heart, Kaiba? These walls are a mystery to even myself."

He shook himself out of his own musings and turned to face his opponent. "No, Kaiba. The advantage I spoke of has nothing to do with whether or not I already know where these doors and staircases lead to. The advantage is the control I have over them."

"Control? You're saying you can somehow change the maze as we go?"

"I don't believe you would allow yourself to understand were I to explain it, so perhaps it would be better to simply begin."

"About time." The pharaoh pulled out his own deck again, and Kaiba did the same. After a few moments of shuffling, the monsters were chosen and the remaining cards disappeared. Two doorways appeared in front of the men, signifying that the game would begin. Yami allowed for Kaiba to choose first.

"How will I know when I've reached the first milestone?"

"Most of the doors here are made of metal. The first door you will be seeking out is made of wood. The second will be stone. The final door shall be made of gold. You will know each door by sight; there will be no mistaking them. _Finding_ them will be the real trick."

Kaiba nodded in acknowledgment and placed one hand onto the door he'd chosen. He spared a glance back at his opponent, determination flaring in his cerulean eyes.

"Game on." They said in unison.


	8. Game On

The game had begun, and both men stepped over the threshold of their personal maze. They were separated from one another, save for their upcoming encounters where they should battle. Immediately, Kaiba was met with a fork; two metal doors stood before him. He cautiously moved to open the first, the one on his left. Peeking behind it showed him it led to an expansive corridor not worth the time to explore this early on in the game. He turned to the other, behind which he found a straight path and a set of stairs. He chose the second option. As he went on, Kaiba took note of every step and turn he made, making certain to recall in precise detail so that he would not have to second-guess or risk getting lost as the game drove on. He always ensured that he knew what direction he was facing in relation to his starting point, and was thankful that the hallways in which he roamed were straight pathways or turns at ninety degree angles. Calculating degrees of circumference had the potential to slow him down.

The pharaoh, though he was used to spending his time trying to find a way through the mazes within his mind, felt the experience gave him little to no advantage even still. The turns were frequent and the splits in his path were many. However, he _did_ have an advantage in the way that his destination, the wooden door, was calling to him. Somehow, the king could feel which direction he was being _pulled_, and any pathways he passed along the way seemed to emanate an emptiness for him, as though to further emphasize that there was nothing for him behind them, least not related to the task on hand.

_If only I could access this ability while trying to piece together the memories I suspect are hidden here,_ he meditated.

* * *

Upon reaching his third dead-ended corridor in a row, Kaiba's adrenaline began to pulse. He had no way of knowing how well his opponent may be faring, and although he would admit he wanted the spirit to disappear his pride refused to allow him an option other than to give it his all. If he was to be defeated, he preferred - perhaps _needed_ - for the fight to be balanced. To sit back and let another seize his victory was something the CEO, bent on victory at all costs, could not allow himself to endure.

The brunet's feet carried him along at a quick pace, barely glancing behind doors and around corners before assessing whether or not he would spend the time to investigate further. His mind was steadily computing a layout of each turn he had made, what options had not been explored, and where the end goal was most likely to be found.

While he endeavored to make that prediction, Kaiba found himself constantly distracted by the eerie sensation of eyes upon his back. He grew frustrated further, but resorted to what the master gamer did best, and channeled his anger into fuel, powering the strength to push through and _win_. He kicked his speed up another few notches, extra adrenaline not losing him an ounce of efficiency or accuracy in the process. He wound through one final corridor and found himself standing directly in front of a new door, constructed of finely decorated dark wood, and wasted no time in bursting through, lest his opponent be waiting on the other side.

Alas, the door led to a closed-in room where Kaiba now stood, entirely alone. He was the first to arrive. A second door, identical to the one on which Kaiba's hand still remained, stood on the wall directly opposite. By the time he had closed the door behind him and taken but a moment to take in his (minimal) surroundings and was considering how they might exit the room when the time came, the second door eased open. The pharaoh stepped in, and seemed to make an attempt to conceal his reaction. Regardless, Kaiba noted how his face fell, ever so slightly, upon understanding he had not been the first to find his way through the maze. The taller couldn't help but feel smug on top of his sense of triumph.

"Kaiba, I concede you are the victor. I arrived last, so my move."

"Straight to the point, I see. Just the way I prefer. Go on then."

"My first move shall be my Magician of Black Chaos, with an attack of twenty-eight hundred." The pharaoh held his card out in front of him and the slender magician, clad in dark purple leather and its flashy headdress, appeared before his master, prepared to attack his opposition.

"Hmph. A decent start. But it won't bring you victory. I counter with Blue Eyes White Dragon!" Kaiba pulled the card from his hand of four and held it out as the other had, and the dragon appeared. The beast was large enough to obscure Kaiba's view of his opponent, but he paid the minor detail no mind as he called his grand beast to attack.

"Blue Eyes, White Lightning!" The blinding burst over-illuminated the entire expanse. The magician shielded itself from the pain of battle. Its image shattered from defeat and the pieces floated into nothingness. "That's round one, pharaoh." Kaiba's voice was smug, taunting. The Egyptian did not have an opportunity to speak before two more doors appeared, back to back, in between the two duelists.

"The next round begins," Yami stated to the other before stepping through and returning to his maze. Kaiba silently advanced as well, and once the doors closed behind each of the men, they were in their own little world again, cut off from the other.

* * *

It was only a brief matter of time before Kaiba was welcomed once again by the feeling of eyes on him. _He's watching me somehow,_ he thought to himself. _He knows this place better than I do. There must be a way for him to spy on me that he neglected to mention._

As before, Kaiba used his annoyance to fuel his efficiency as he hastened along the new, unfamiliar territory, with seemingly reckless disregard while it was truly due to carefully calculated decisions. However, as he moved along, small details began to perplex him. Some passages he suspected would lead him in a circle wound up as a dead-end. Exits he thought would lead back to somewhere he'd been seemed to take him to an entirely unexplored area, as though the doorways he stepped through could be a sort of portal to another plane of the maze entirely, as though the ground he walked upon was not wholly linear._ That's a bit farfetched_, Kaiba scoffed at his own conclusion.

Unless something outside of the maze was contributing to these factors. _Spying on my moves _and_ changing the playing field? He really must want to win if he has to sink to cheating._

Seto Kaiba, being the strategist he was, knew exactly how he had arrived at his location in the maze he was traversing. He had eliminated the other, illogical, courses and chosen the one he expected should take him to the second milestone door. A single, ordinary metal door stood before him, and clearly it would have to lead somewhere direct.

But it didn't. Kaiba turned the handle and pulled it open only to find the doorway was bricked over. It lead nowhere.

"How could this be a dead end?" He asked aloud. He stood, studying the closed-over doorway, looking for a solution. He brushed his hands over the bricks, searching for a possible hidden key or switch he might be able to use to get through.

Eventually finding no way to get through the passage, Kaiba stood back from the bricked-over exit, arms crossed. He decided he would have to try another tactic, and thought back over each turn he had made, calculating how many alternate paths had been available. Thanking... _someone_ that his memory was so reliable, and he closed his eyes to picture the layout of the maze in his head.

"I was certain I had my path mapped out! Something must have changed again…" He shook his head and spun on a heel, determined now to find some other way. But he was stopped by a figure blocking his path.

"Perhaps it has," the figure spoke. "Though your suspicion of who is responsible is incorrect." Tousled white hair was tossed behind the man's shoulders while he approached the CEO.

"I know you. You were one of the duelists responsible for the wrench thrown into my tournament. Bakura."

"Ah, Kaiba. I'm flattered that you remember me."

"What are you doing here?"

"Helping you."

"That's not what I meant."

"Oh, I know exactly what you meant. You believe I've joined the pharaoh as a dweller in your mind, and you want to know how."

"I don't care about how. I want to know why."

"But you're wrong again, Kaiba. I'm not here for you. I'm here for _him_. The other; your rival."

Kaiba sighed. "You've failed to catch my interest, and I'm in the middle of something. If you're the one responsible for blocking my way out," Kaiba gestured to the bricked wall, "then undo whatever you did so I can move on."

Bakura threw himself into a fit of laughter. "Kaiba, you do have a one-track mind. But please allow me to explain myself. I assure that you will see the importance when I'm finished."

"You're going to be finished, alright," Kaiba threatened while moving toward his obstacle, and gripped the collar of the other's shirt. Bakura put up his hands in mock-surrender.

"You cannot hurt me here, Kaiba. Even if you managed to disengage me from this place, you would only be destroying a piece of me. A carbon copy, if you will. It would do no good. Just like the pharaoh is an intruder in your mind, this minimal piece of myself is but an intruder in his. Besides, you and I can gain from one another, if we both cooperate." Kaiba narrowed his eyes and begrudgingly released the man.

"What do you mean by that?"

"All in good time, Kaiba. For now, all you need to understand is that it will be better for both of us - _significantly_ better - if you _win_."

"I thought the goal was for me to be defeated."

"That would be _his_ goal. _Your_ goal is to be rid of him so you can resume your life, am I correct?" Kaiba nodded. "And my way will allow for that to happen, while getting something I desire as well. And honestly, do you really _care_ if the pharaoh gets what he wants when all is said and done?"

"I can't say that I do. I only agreed to this trial in the first place because-"

"Because it may lead to Yugi regaining ownership of the pharaoh's power. Yes, I know. But you don't care about that. Neither do I. I have something else in store for the pharaoh's power that's much more interesting. However, I suspect you don't care about _my_ intentions either, so I won't bore you with that."

"It's about time one of you people stopped deliberately wasting my time." His eyes flicked back to the blocked exit, and Bakura caught his concern.

"Don't fret, Kaiba. I am your ally throughout the rest of this game. I intend for you to win, and I'm not going to prevent that by holding you up too long."

"What incentive are you willing to provide to get me to cooperate with you?"

"Self-serving, as always, as I expected. Yes, I come to you with a bargaining token. I have a strength I can offer to give you for your cooperation."

"What do you mean by 'strength'?"

"A sort of power. You think you have already accomplished much in your pitiful life, Kaiba? You don't know the meaning of greatness! But I can show you. You need only act as I say and it will come to you."

"What kind of power?" Kaiba's interest was piqued, but he was still skeptical.

"Never mind that. A day will come, very soon, when all of this will be explained. For now, you have a game to win, and time is running short."

"I thought you said you intend to ensure my victory."

"Certainly. But you still need to play." Bakura snapped his fingers and Kaiba saw from the corner of his eye that the bricks had vanished. Through the open pathway they left behind, he saw a straight path to a heavy stone door. "Go. Do not worry about the details just yet." Seeing no reason to object, Kaiba turned and navigated to the second milestone door. Bakura stopped him just before he could pull it open.

"Kaiba, there is one more thing." He did not turn back to look at the other man. "You cannot speak of my intentions, or even of my presence, to anyone. This encounter did not happen. I assure you, you will find it worth the work when all is said and done."

Kaiba chuckled dryly. "What encounter?" Bakura smirked at the man's back.

_That's what I wanted to hear._

A/N:

Because of when I designated this story to take place, I had to use the YGO wiki for a reference to the cards in each duelist's deck during that time. I try to do as much research as I can manage, but since I am using multiple sources, if anything I work into my stories is inaccurate I'm quite sorry. The pharaoh's Magician of Black Chaos has 2800 attack points and 2600 defense points. We probably all know that the Blue Eyes has 3000 atk points and 2500 def points.


	9. Resolutions and Aftermath

A/N: Sorry this is pretty late - technically it's Monday in my time zone (but I haven't slept tonight so I don't consider it tomorrow yet!). I'd hashed out the finishing touches to this and was pretty happy with it, but then my brain glitches and I closed the doc and didn't save… pretty upset about that, but I still wanted to get it out today or it could have ended up waiting a week! So I apologize that it doesn't flow quite as smoothly as it's supposed to. Try as I might, I cannot remember everything I'd polished up. Still, I hope you'll bear with me! Here's chapter nine…

* * *

"What took you so long, Kaiba?" The pharaoh smirked from his stance inside the second room.

"I'd been held up. But never mind. Let's get this over with."

"So eager to lose? Very well." The king encouraged Kaiba to take his turn.

"My move." Kaiba drew the second card from his hand. _Don't be so sure of yourself,_ he thought and called another Blue Eyes White Dragon to the field.

_Another Blue Eyes? Is he _trying_ to defy me? _The pharaoh shook his head in an attempt to dispel his annoyance. "I summon Valkyrion the Manga Warrior, with an attack of thirty-five hundred! You lose, Kaiba." The brunet emitted a low growl and put his discarded monster away as its image was wiped from the vicinity.

"One round remains, my friend, and the score is tied. We shall see the end of this very soon." Once again Kaiba said nothing before returning to his private section of their maze.

* * *

The pharaoh was led back to his starting point for the third time in a row, unable to progress very far at all before he found himself walking in a circle. Frustrated, he smacked his palm against the wall.

_This was happening in the last round as well! Has Kaiba somehow crafted a way to control this labyrinth like I have been doing myself? It seems my efforts have backfired. Yugi… I cannot fail you._ He clenched his fist as he imagined his dear friend's face, encouraging him to push through the barriers that barred him from pressing on.

* * *

Kaiba was not far along before he was joined by his new ally once again.

"Now what kind of path to victory are you hashing out? We won't get very far if you continue playing _that way_," Bakura mocked. Kaiba did not turn to acknowledge the other while he fell into stride alongside the CEO.

"You were the one who held me up long enough for him to arrive before me. Are you sure you understand the rules of this game?"

"Of course I do," he waved his hand dismissively. "The first person through each maze gets the advantage of knowing how to counter properly. I merely ran into a bit of a hitch keeping your opponent occupied long enough. No matter. There is still another round. What monsters do you have remaining?"

"Why would I tell you? For all I know, you're really just helping _him_. How do I know you aren't the pharaoh's little _spy_?"

_Kaiba, if you only _knew_ how wrong you are. _He smirked at his thought, but said nothing on Kaiba's comment."Very well, keep your secrets. I noticed you didn't speak of me. You must trust me enough for that, at least."

"I never claimed to trust you."

"Perhaps if I show you a faster way through this maze, you may begin to believe that I am on your side."

"I'd have to see that happen first."

* * *

The spirit of the puzzle was burning with determination to reach his goal. With Yugi on his mind helping him to regain the mental strength he needed, the pharaoh was charging through his part of the maze with newfound energy. Each time he felt that something had tampered with the walls, resisting the path his mental pull was driving him towards, his concentration and will broke through. No longer did he find himself traveling in circles or reaching dead-ends. Whatever time he had lost at the beginning of the round, he was sure to have made up with his speed by now. He sensed he was nearing the end. The spirit could only hope Kaiba was not having such luck.

* * *

"Turn left at the fork up ahead."

"I can't turn left. That would lead me back in the direction I came from. I need to keep going straight."

"…Are you certain about that?"

"Yes." Kaiba stated without hesitance. Before he could say another word, however, the straight path of the hallway directly following the fork in front of him became bricked-off, just like the doorway before the second round. Kaiba stopped walking to regard the man beside him.

"Stop toying with me. I know where I'm headed and turning left will not get me to the end of this maze."

"But it would seem now that you have no other options, Kaiba." The brunet growled, his anger with the entire ordeal bordering now on fury. Still, he conceded, understanding the truth that he now had no other path to take but the one Bakura had designated.

He turned left, down a long corridor that ended with a staircase, at the bottom of which was a single doorway. However, this door was not the ordinary metallic grey that made up most of the others like he may have expected, nor was it gold like he may have been hoping. It was silver, decorated with a large yellow star in the center. Kaiba stopped mid-stride and stared at it, perplexed.

"Congratulations, Kaiba. It seems you've made it to the bonus round."

* * *

The pharaoh stood in front of a similar door in a similar hallway, entirely shut off from his opponent.

_I wonder what it means._ He gripped the handle and pulled, but nothing happened. The door refused to budge. _Pushing?_ Nothing. He stood back to examine his predicament. _Why is this even here? Is it another one of Kaiba's tricks?_ Unsure of what action to take next, he pulled out his remaining two monster cards. When he did so, the star upon the face of the door began to emanate a low light.

"I suppose you're wanting me to attack, no? That will force me to use up all but one of my monsters. Is that your intention, Kaiba?" He shook his head. "Very well, my friend. _Duel_." The pharaoh held out his signature card.

"Dark Magician, dark magic attack!" Once the magic stream erupted against the silver barricade, the light of the star faded and the image was wiped away. The door clicked open.

"Thank you, my dear companion." The pharaoh nodded to his monster, who returned the gesture before fading away himself. He slipped his third monster into the discard pile he kept in his pocket and pulled the door open further to slip through.

* * *

Kaiba stole a glance at the man calling himself his ally before deciding on which of his two monsters to summon. He pulled his Kaiser Glider onto the field before him and called it to attack the silver door.

"A minor obstacle."

"And now you each have only one monster to summon. If you don't mind my asking, which of your two remaining creatures had the most attack points: the one you've spent, or the one you have remaining?"

"The one remaining." Kaiba concluded.

"So now you have retained a powerful creature with which to defend yourself. Why? Is your goal to win after all?" Kaiba did not answer. "I see. You refuse to admit it, but you are beginning to put stock into what I've said. This is a good thing, Kaiba. This will lead to both of us getting something we want. Now go on. The end of your game lies beyond that door." _A victor has already been decided,_ Bakura thought smugly to himself.

Kaiba brushed past the silver door and immediately through the gold one that lie behind it. It appeared at first as though the wall opposite were lined with a mirror, with the image of a door opposite him had opened simultaneously. But as he stepped further into the final room, Kaiba understood that the opposite wall held only the opposite door, and his opponent had stepped through within the same instant as he.

"It appears we have come across a draw; we have both arrived at once. Since we only have one card remaining each-"

"We each play our last card at the same time." Kaiba cut in. "It isn't rocket science." They each held their final card out to summon their last monster.

"Come forth, Blue Eyes!"

"I summon Black Luster Soldier!"

"Ha! That's the best you've got? I thought you were trying to _win_ this! Blue Eyes, attack!"

"I thought you were trying to _let_ me!" The pharaoh seethed. "Our monsters are evenly matched at three thousand attack points each." The pharaoh was correct, and both monsters were destroyed, ending the game in a draw.

"_Let_ you win? When did I ever agree to that? It isn't my fault you didn't choose better monsters. I had anticipated you bringing the god cards. I had _expected_ you to, hence why I wasn't afraid to stack my hand with all three of my dragons."

"The god cards are not currently a part of my deck, so they are unavailable to me. Nor are they in Yugi's deck. We both agree that the three cards are far too powerful to reside in one deck together."

"Hmph. In that case, why don't you let a _real_ duelist take them off your hands? I grew rather fond of Obelisk while it was in my possession."

"I'm sure you did, Kaiba. However, they are also too obvious of a target to be carried around like a common monster card. You are no stranger to just how coveted the god cards are. So Yugi's grandfather has put them away for safekeeping."

"Whatever." Kaiba dismissed. "It's a shame. A real waste of such power."

"The only way you're getting them off of our hands is by winning them, Kaiba, and Yugi and I are not afraid to use the gods in order to defend them if necessary. You will not be getting your hands on Obelisk again, nor any of the three, as long as we have something to say about it."

"Your threats won't work on me. I know their weaknesses."

"But can you stand up against all three at once?" Before allowing Kaiba to answer, the former king pressed on. "And why should you need to, anyway? You have already proven that you can defeat Yugi without them. And you very nearly defeated me just now," he begrudgingly stated, though would not allow himself to believe whole-heartedly.

Kaiba smirked. It wasn't a common occurrence that his greatest rival complimented his skills, admitting him to be the superior man. He decided not to argue. "I'm glad you're finally starting to see the light. I never thought I'd hear you agree that I'm better than you."

The pharaoh masked his disquiet. While his compliment seemed to distract the taller duelist well enough, he was beginning to grow concerned with his level of cooperation; or lack-there-of.

He sighed. "Though no victor has been decided, our game has come to an end, Kaiba."

"I can see that."

The walls around them faded away and the two men found themselves back where they had started, just inside the closed door of the pharaoh's personal chamber.

"Clearly this did not go as planned. I should like to try again, but… another time."

"Whatever."

"I don't mean to be rude, but I would prefer it if you left. I have some… reflecting to do." He nodded farewell to the brunet before turning to disappear down a seemingly random corridor. The pharaoh had not lost outright, but Kaiba couldn't help but notice as he walked away that he appeared rather defeated. However, he was unmoved, and turned toward the exit. Before he could get very far, he was stopped by a hand on his shoulder. He knew who it was without turning back.

"You make a habit of appearing out of nowhere?" Kaiba asked, though his tone said he was quite bored.

"I have mastered shadows, Kaiba," the man with white hair answered. "Stealth and secrecy are assets of mine."

"And you think I care because…?"

"I simply told you because you asked. I was not under the illusion that my answer mattered to you. Anyway, I have something I wish to discuss with you."

"As do I. I want to know more about this 'power' you're trying to bribe me with."

"Ah, of course. But that's just something you'll have to take my word for."

"Just how much stock do you assume I put in your word? You should be made aware - I don't trust easily."

"I had not assumed you did. Anyway, I come to you now with a warning. Do not allow the pharaoh to rope you into another game."

"Why not?"

"He has more dominion over his mind than I had anticipated. I had little control over the outcome of this event."

"Of course. You weren't even in the game."

"Regardless. He is a more powerful being than I initially thought we were up against."

"And you think I can't defeat him on my own?

"You have your abilities. But you have too much pride. That may be your downfall. Don't get a big head about this, Kaiba. You need my assistance more than you may realize."

"I've been fending for myself my entire life. I don't need anyone to hold my hand. I am interested in what you have to offer, Bakura, but you won't earn my cooperation by insulting me."

"It was not meant as an insult; only an observation. You may play against him if you desire, but if you lose our deal is off. I will have nothing to offer you. Think about how much that means to you." Kaiba said nothing, but eyed the other man as he turned to head off in a direction opposite that of where the pharaoh had gone. Kaiba shook his head to clear his mind and took his own exit.

* * *

Mokuba had, throughout the day, dialed his brother's office phone, the number to his suite, and had left a call-back note with both his brother's office secretary and the hotel receptionist. Not once had he been able to reach the ever-busy Seto Kaiba. Finally, after trying the man's cell phone a third time in a row and getting voicemail once again, Mokuba finally decided to leave a message.

"Hey bro. I know you're probably swamped right now, but I was wondering if maybe you had a few minutes so we could talk? Call me back when you get a chance. I'm not dying or anything, but… well, never mind - I'll talk to you later. Bye." Before closing his cell phone, he checked the time to read nine fifty. He sighed.

"Seto would want me in bed by now. He probably won't call back tonight." Mokuba said aloud to his empty bedroom. But he still held hope, and lay down to sleep with his cell phone resting on his pillow next to his ebony mop of hair.

* * *

A/N: I hope this chapter wasn't too dull, or confusing!

For a little clarification for the cards each of the duelists used: During Battle City and the Virtual World, Yugi doesn't really use the God cards much, if at all. In the first episode of the fourth season, we see Gramps almost swooning over the cards as he's… what? Polishing them? Anyway, I gathered that Yugi wouldn't really have them in his deck. He keeps them 1) so that bad guys can't have them and 2) because they believe the pharaoh needs them for reasons, and not because he wants the power. I assume Kaiba wouldn't think of this, and wouldn't have expected his BEWD's to be too strong. Yami, who seems to be fooled into thinking that Kaiba's going to be a little nicer and maybe _not_ use all his strongest cards, might have set up the game a bit differently if he thought Kaiba was going to be so… _Kaiba_. They both went into this expecting the other to choose cards other than what was chosen. He'll just have to think his rules through a little better next time.

The monsters used in this chapter were the pharaoh's Dark magician (2500atk/2100), Valkyrion the Magna Warrior (3500/3850), Black Luster Soldier (3000/2500), Kaiba's Kaiser Glider (2400/2200), and his BEWD (3000/2500).


	10. Admitting is the First Step

A/N: ~Hey guys! Attention, pretty please?~

For anyone who didn't see, I posted a one-shot earlier this week, Innocence and Dragons. This current chapter relates directly to that shot. If you haven't done so already, I highly recommend you read it before you get to this. It was partly written to integrate into Shift. You don't _have to_, I suppose, but then you won't understand what a large chunk of this is talking about and you'll miss a lot of the meaning, as well as a recurring theme I've begun weaving into this story from now up until the end, so… wouldya, please? Thank you so much! And anyone else who's read it already, thank you, and please read on!

* * *

Seto Kaiba was supposed to be using his time to prepare for a meeting with his financing team for Kaiba Land. He had already done so - having organized his paperwork, prepared a visual presentation, and signed any documents that had needed finalizing - though being this efficient was typical for himself. This left him a few precious moments to stand atop his empire like a king in his castle, staring out the floor-to-ceiling window in the office of his US headquarters. The Californian scenery outside his tower was refreshingly exotic compared to the familiar sights of Domino City, Japan.

Kaiba's eyes saw none of it.

He was too heavily absorbed in his own world - one that had no claim to a land in particular. He was dwelling on his "supernatural" situation, and for once, that damned spirit had finally left him with some peace. Now that he thought about it, however, he hadn't so much as sensed the other's presence since waking that morning. Kaiba was not going to complain about the quietude. He was a private man, and frankly, having a constant companion was, as it were, cramping his style. Even Mokuba, who was the center of the CEO's world, could be a little too affectionate for the older man's comfort at times.

…Mokuba. _That's_ what Kaiba's thoughts truly orbited around this afternoon. How all of _this_ affected _him_. Originally, the brunet's motivation had been focused solely around ridding himself of his internal annoyance of the spirit. If not for that, would he have done anything with the puzzle? Likely not. However, he found himself carrying it with him halfway across the globe, and even ensuring that he had it safely stowed in his briefcase whenever he so much as left a room.

Then there had been that foolish old man, who just had to run off at the mouth. _Who the hell does he think he is anyway, threatening me with Mokuba's safety like that?_ The man's audacity had left him fuming for the remainder of that afternoon. But now he had to reconsider. What was he trying to accomplish now by working with, instead of against, the spirit? Could something really happen to Mokuba if this item were not returned to Yugi? If so, _what_? He was apprehensive to find out. Kaiba prioritized his own safety and self-preservation as far as his duty as Mokuba's shield was concerned. He was Mokuba's guardian; he was the boy's protector, and that role came first. But if something was threatening to endanger Mokuba's safety directly, was it not his _job_ to eliminate it? Somehow, initially, he had not taken the threat as a warning to do such a thing for his brother.

And then there was the painting. That cracked image… it had seemed so trivial at the time. Old paint does crack. But Kaiba had been unable to shake the idea from his mind. How it tortured Kaiba to imagine his brother, his own little treasured gem, shattering to bits. Was that… could that really be happening? That place was supposed to be a reflection of his own mind; his own life. Could his actions be… _breaking_ his little treasure? _Absurd_, Kaiba wanted to call out. But was it, really?

Kaiba found himself suddenly reminded of a bedtime story he had told his younger half once. It was not long after Kaiba had taken over his stepfather's company; the story had been an attempt at comforting the young boy after the recent change in their lives.

He had been making the story up on a whim, but had certainly been able to draw similarities to those recent events. However, it wasn't until now that he finally started to understand how profound, and how relevant, the anecdote truly was.

Kaiba's mind wandered back to instances he could recall his brother disagreeing with his actions. Every decision he'd made, he'd done thinking it would better both of their lives. But how many times had the young boy lashed out at him for those very choices? Their stepbrother had brought to light a few of those issues while they had been trapped in his virtual world.

* * *

"_Checkmate,"_ Ten year old Seto had claimed.

"_Ah!"_

"_You lose."_

"_No! How could _you_ beat _me_?"_

"_Now you have to adopt us like you promised, Mr. Kaiba!"_

"That was the day I took control of my future." Seto Kaiba - the new ruler of the Kaiba empire - had stated boldly while watching the memory from the orphanage window.

"Yeah?" Mokuba had challenged from beside his elder. "Well it was also the day you stopped calling me Mokie," he snapped.

"If it wasn't for me, we never would have escaped that rat hole. I turned our lives around that day."

"Hmph. I liked the way it was before we got here! At least back then, you actually smiled once in a while!"

* * *

Kaiba shuddered, recalling how the boy had very nearly been pulled down into the nothingness that lurked behind the orphanage door. Had Kaiba not been on guard and expecting a trap, had he been just a split-second later in reacting… that may have been the end of Mokuba. And _that_ would have been the last thing Seto Kaiba would have heard his only remaining family member say to him.

He shook his head, trying to clear it of these depressing thoughts, but it would not be the end of them.

Kaiba remembered Noah's brainwashing technique. He suspected Mokuba didn't. He figured the violet-eyed boy had been spared the guilt, or whatever emotions he might have felt over the event. Kaiba wouldn't know for certain, however; they never spoke about the incident.

* * *

"Mokuba has chosen sides based upon his own free will, Seto." Noah had claimed. Kaiba scoffed at the thought. Looking at Mokuba, hearing the droning undertone of his voice, it was clear he was not in his right mind. But that hardly mattered. "Looking back," Noah continued, "Maybe you should have treated him with more respect. _I_ give him the support you _never_ could. Hmph."

"Noah, I'm only going to say this once. Release Mokuba _now._ This is _our_ fight. Is that clear? He has nothing to do with this!"

"There you go, disrespecting Mokuba again. Acting like his opinion means nothing."

Had he done that? Had he made a habit of belittling the most important person in his life - nay, the _only_ person who mattered?

"_How could Mokuba be forced to turn against me? Maybe I have been too hard on him…"_ Kaiba recalled asking himself during the duel his stepbrother had turned his flesh and blood against him.

* * *

…And then there was the end of Battle City. That was more recent; that was fresh. _That_ still stung.

"…I don't think destroying the tower is going to solve anything. All it's going to do is cause more destruction, more anger, and more hatred."

"Mokuba…" Even after all the times Mokuba had tried to stress that he was growing displeased with his older brother's path, Kaiba was still shocked to have the boy speak against him - to defy him outright.

Maybe he was too used to Mokuba following him blindly. He shouldn't have been fooled by his own expectations. He should have caught on.

"I think what Yugi said about you is right! You're filled with hate!" Kaiba flinched at the memory. What had felt merely like a stated fact at the time now felt like an accusation; an insult. As though Mokuba were berating him for it.

Because that's what he was _doing_. But Kaiba had let it roll off his back like nothing. He _was_ filled with hate. He was also apathetic to the fact. He didn't _care_ that he had hardened himself to the world. To life.

To Mokuba.

"Why don't you smile anymore?" Mokuba had continued. "I know our childhood wasn't the best, but at least we had fun _sometimes_. And now, you're always in a bad mood, and I want it back the way it was!"

"Those days are over!" Kaiba had declared recklessly.

"_They don't have to be!_" No, they didn't. "You can change!" Yes. He could. And he intended to. The question was… _how?_

* * *

Kaiba returned to his desk and folded his legs. He did not approve of picture frames or other trinkets cluttering his desk space. But he did make a point of keeping a few digital photos stored in his computer files. He pulled them up, flipped through the images. Most were self-shots Mokuba had taken of himself and given to his brother.

"_Why are you giving these to me? I don't work so much that I've forgotten what you look like, you know,"_ Kaiba had asked him flatly once. Mokuba just shrugged an cracked a smile.

"_Oh, you know. In case I ever go missing, so you have something more recent than the picture in your locket to show the police,"_ he had morbidly joked. Even after the kid said it, his grin was still bright. Kaiba had given him some tactless, off-handed remark about using stills from one of his television appearances.

_Mokuba is so underappreciated,_ Kaiba let himself think while flipping through the rest of the pictures. In the few shots where the CEO actually made an appearance (which mostly happened only in the photos taken by media photographers at their numerous public events), Kaiba noticed that he wasn't even attempting a grin in a single one of them. Nothing more than a scowl - or at best, a triumphant smirk - crossed his features. He sat back and reflected.

Why hadn't he taken the kid with him on this trip? He was always leaving the boy by himself. And hadn't he practically _begged_ to be allowed to tag along? What had been his reasoning for denying him? Schoolwork. _No_, Kaiba thought. _That was my excuse. I didn't want to run the risk of Mokuba getting in the way. I can't afford wasted time this month._ But when had that ever really happened?

Kaiba Corp was under attack by Pegasus and the Big Five, and Mokuba, whilst kidnapped in Pegasus's castle tower, had taken it upon himself to try and fix his nii-sama's problem by taking Yugi out of the Duelist Kingdom tournament himself. Kaiba had been kidnapped within his own virtual game and was about to be offered as a sacrifice to the great beast, and Mokuba had come to the rescue disguised as princess Edina. Kaiba Corp's Grand Prix tournament, Siegfried von Schroeder and his virus. Mokuba just couldn't wait to find a way to help. Kaiba's head began to spin thinking of all the countless times his loyal little Mokuba had jumped to the occasion to lend a hand for his big brother.

_Of course. How dare Mokuba get in the way of my drive? How _dare _Mokuba's presence threaten to disrupt my focus and throw me off track… off track from my job. My job which I maintain… so that Mokuba can have a better life. My job which I maintain… for Mokuba._ Kaiba let out a deep sigh, and his head fell back against the backrest of his chair. He could've smacked himself for being so blind.

He minimized the folder of pictures and stole a glance at the clock. It was 3:48 pm. He could spare ten minutes before his meeting down the hall at four. He opened his video chat program and checked for his brother's name among his list of contacts (which was otherwise made up solely of his business associates), found the boy to be logged in, and hit the call button. Eager violet-grey eyes appeared on the screen but a moment later.

"Hey Seto!" Kaiba nodded in greeting to his kid brother.

"I'm returning your call - or should I say _calls_," he corrected himself. "What was it you wanted to speak to me about?"

"Oh, uh, it's not really a big deal. Never mind. Sorry I made such a fuss about getting a hold of you. I hope I didn't disrupt your work too much."

"It wasn't a bother."

"Then I should probably let you get back to work. Sorry to bug you." He flashed his older brother a grin to convey that everything was alright on his end.

"Hang on a minute, Mokuba."

"Hmm? Is something wrong?" It _was_ odd for him to receive a call from the CEO in the middle of a workday.

"Nothing's wrong. I just wanted to talk to you."

"Ok. About what?" Straight to business. Kaiba might have been proud if he wasn't too busy feeling wracked with guilt.

_And _how_ did I ever let it get this bad?_

"Nothing in particular, Mokuba," he answered. He tried to keep his tone light, and it seemed he had succeeded.

"Oh…" Mokuba's concern had flashed to confusion, but was shed entirely and replaced with glee all in an instant, being hit all at once with the realization that his ever-busy guardian was taking out time for _small talk_ with him. "…Ok!"

Kaiba decided he could stand to be a little late to his meeting. Nothing in this building happened without him, after all.

"Well, how are you?" Mokuba started.

"I'm doing fine, little brother." Kaiba had to strain himself not to instinctually answer with 'I've been busy', knowing it would only put pressure on the younger to let him out of the video call early. He didn't want that. "Boring businesses functions. You know how it goes," he said dismissively. "I'd rather hear about what _you've_ been up to." Mokuba was grinning as he began rattling off the many activities he'd been up to in his brother's absence, spilling all the ways he occupied time by himself. Kaiba allowed himself a light smile. The way this small gesture seemed to make his baby brother's eyes light up would be forever worth it.

"Mokuba?" Kaiba broke in at a point where his brother seemed about to switch topics.

"Yeah, Seto? Oh, you probably have to go, don't you?"

Kaiba mentally cursed himself. Was that all Mokuba could suspect he would say?

"No, not yet. I was just wondering… do you remember that bedtime story I told you a while ago, not that long after we took over KaibaCorp-"

"Back before I was officially 'too old for bedtime stories'?" Mokuba made air-quotes with his fingers, trying his best to mimic his brother, and earning a chuckle from him for it.

"Technically you were a little old for it, even then." Kaiba smiled fondly. "I think you were eleven."

"So which story are you asking about?"

"The one about the Dragon Tamer and th-"

"…and the Wizard?" Mokuba finished for his brother. "Yeah, I remember that one. It was one of my favorites." Now it was Mokuba's turn to smile fondly. "Why do you ask?"

"I was just wondering if… well, if you understood back then what it meant."

"Of course. Well, maybe not right away when you told it, considering that I was half-asleep, but I've interpreted your not-that-subtle symbolism since then. Turning the sea_horse_ dragon into wood? Yeah, I caught that. And obviously the Dragon Tamer was supposed to be you."

"Perhaps making up stories wasn't exactly my forte, but they seemed to entertain you well enough as a child."

"Wasn't that the whole point?"

Kaiba nodded. "What about the Wizard?"

"Gozaburo." Mokuba answered plainly. "…Why are you bringing this up?" The boy asked. Kaiba was unable to detect whether the hint of an undertone in his brother's voice was curiosity or suspicion.

"No reason, I guess. It's just been on my mind."

"Well, you know…" Mokuba said sheepishly. "I've decided since then that I don't think the ending was really so sad after all."

"Oh no?"

"No. I think it's just sweet."

Kaiba did not smile, but his eyes softened, and Mokuba noticed.

"Do you think the Tamer ever found a spell to cure his dragon, Seto?"

"I should think so. After all, with all that magic he learned, he was a pretty unstoppable guy, don't you think? Who's to say he couldn't find what he was looking for?"

"I think you're projecting." Mokuba said with a twinkle in his eye.

Kaiba did smile this time. "So what if I am?"

"Nii-sama, what ever happened to the wizard?"

"…We don't really care about what happened to him." Mokuba smirked at his brother's answer. "I believe the tamer, and his little treasure," he emphasized the last word, "would be better off without him anyway." Now Mokuba was beaming.

The clock hit 4:08 pm. The CEO didn't notice.

* * *

For anyone who didn't catch it in Innocence and Dragons (though I thought it was lamely obvious), yeah, the bedtime story was pretty much a fairy tale rendition of Seto's and Mokuba's childhood experience with Gozaburo. I didn't write the story: Kazuki Takahashi did. I just magic'ed and dragon'ed it up a bit. I couldn't even fool eleven-year-old Mokuba, now could I?

Episode quotes are taken from the English 4Kids anime, in the following episodes (listed in respectful order): The first flashback scene is from season 3, episode 100; the second from season 3, episode 116, and the third - you guessed it: Season 3! Episode 137.

I want to make sure I take the time to thank everyone who's been following, favorite-ing, and especially to those who review! Your feedback is immeasurably valuable to me, and gives me so much encouragement to keep writing. Thank you all so much for the support, and I hope to see you all next week!


	11. Revelations

A/N: Hey guys! 'Tis a beautiful Sunday, and here I am chillin' out at my computer. Of course. So, I want to thank, on top of everyone who read/followed/favorited/reviewed, Deck Divination and m . rahmanyar for pointing out a few little typos - it really means a lot to me when you guys bring that stuff to my attention! I'd much rather know about it so I can fix it right away than let it sit there until I eventually find it myself, and who knows how many people would've had to see that stuff in the meantime! Anyway, thanks.

The last chapter was pretty fluffy, and I'm happy to hear it was well-received (at least by those who left feedback). Chapter eleven as well as the one that follows are mostly for some more set up so I apologize if they're a little slow. To make up for that I've decided to start posting more frequently - still every Sunday and another chapter somewhere in the middle of the week. I'd like for this story to feel more like it's coming along, and this was one way I thought I could accomplish this. I've also loaded these next few chapters with Kaiba-pharaoh interaction, which I must admit I have extra fun writing, and I hope you all have fun reading! :) That all being said, sorry for blabbing on, so here's the chapter! Thanks so much for reading!

* * *

Kaiba sat at the desk in his hotel suite. The sun had set and moonlight now flooded the near-black sky pouring into his window, but the man still sat at his laptop, typing away.

It was not that he was deliberately overworking himself, however. No, the problem was more likely stemmed from the contributing factor: that he tended to have an overactive mind. He had been busying himself by finishing the paperwork that really could have waited until tomorrow, and was now working to resolve a programming bug in a game that was not due to be released for months. All to keep his mind occupied, unable to drift.

Though he didn't exactly feel sleepy, Kaiba felt his eyes going dry once again. When blinking did no good to dispel the discomfort, he rubbed his eyes with one hand and closed his laptop with the other. After all, it was, of course, only a matter of time before his mind would begin to flood over with the thoughts he had been damming up.

He couldn't help but feel as if, though he were certainly making an effort to be more… _human_ toward Mokuba, the work he had put in was not going to be enough. _How does one go about making up for a lifetime of treating somebody like garbage?_ Were Mokuba able to hear his older brother ask such a thing, the ever-cheerful boy would deny it entirely, but Kaiba couldn't help but feel it was at least somewhat true.

The CEO, clad in his typical turtleneck, jeans, coat and boots, discarded the latter two articles and, without further dressing in his nightclothes, laid on his back on his bed. He stretched out his long legs and crossed them at the ankles, and folded his arms across his pillow, resting his head upon them. He closed his eyes, beginning to feel his stress overwhelm him.

Kaiba could feel his other's eyes on him, watching. He expected a question, perhaps a series of them. But neither spoke, and Kaiba was able to ignore the smaller; pretend him away, even. It was for the best anyway. He had no intention of answering what he expected the other might have asked. If he were to be honest, Kaiba himself was unsure of what he was doing. Or, at least, he was not fully sure _why_ he was about to do it.

He allowed his mind to drift away from his body, and soon enough he was floating above himself again. He flashed a wordless glimpse into the other's eyes before closing his own and fading out of the room.

* * *

Kaiba found himself back within the hallway he was beginning to grow familiar with. Whether that was a good thing or not he had yet to determine. He stood before the entrance to his personal chamber and pulled the door open.

He noticed immediately that the room he now peered into was not so dim as his first time there. The source of light still centered on him, but its strength as well as its reach was much more significant now. He stepped into the middle of the room to examine what might have become of the place in his absence.

The walls were still plain and clean. The enormous crack on the walls and floor remained. The furniture was the same. The flowers were gone, however, and the vase had been replaced by the same cracked painting of Mokuba, now standing prominently in the center of the table instead of off to one side. Kaiba made note of this.

He noticed no other changes. Kaiba had no desire to see the _other_ form of his room had taken, so he opted out of sitting at the head of chairs. He pondered whether another seat may be safe, and approached the leather chair upon which he had dropped the dead flower during his first visit. The flower having disappeared, he stepped around to the front of the chair - in the process, he turned the photo of his brother to face him - and cautiously sat, waiting for his surroundings to change. They did not.

At least, not in the way he had expected.

In the bright source of light that flowed from him, Kaiba could see a few of the cracks in his brother's portrait fade and shrink, though none disappeared entirely. He propped one elbow on the arm of the chair and, resting his chin on the knuckles of his one hand, he lifted the frame containing the smiling boy in the other. He held it close to his face, examining every detail his eyes could catch, but remained unable to put his finger on why the cracks has lessened. Clearly he had been correct in assuming during his first visit that those fractures had been a bad sign. But…

Did this mean he was doing something right? The flaws on his brother's features had begun to fade before his eyes, not _before_ he entered the room. _But why? All I've done is sit in a chair._

…_Tap, tap, tap._ Kaiba was pulled from his thoughts by the quiet knocking, such a small sound. He blinked. He was not at home. He was within himself. And there was only one other who could…

"Enter." He called. This time, light from his room poured _out_ into the hallway as the door were opened, instead of vice versa. Kaiba did not remove his sight from the painting to meet the gaze of the other.

"Kaiba." The smaller man nodded to him. "I did not expect you to return on your own. I am glad to see you prove me wrong." Kaiba had nothing to say to this. The pharaoh ventured away from the doorway, in Kaiba's direction, taking in his surroundings on the way. "Something has been weighing on your mind."

"I thought you agreed you would _not_ be spying on me, or invading my privacy."

"It is not difficult to notice that you are troubled. I do not need to pry to see as much, my friend." Kaiba's eye twitched a nearly unnoticeable degree. He set the frame back in its place and turned to face his "parasite".

"I have been as hospitable to you as I can manage, for the sake of civility. You would be foolish to mistake this as me proffering _friendship_. I am not interested in a companion."

"I understand, Kaiba. After all, it is evident to me that the struggle to maintain a pleasant relationship with your brother more than has your hands full. Why _should_ you want to burden yourself further?" The pharaoh's stony face showed no signs of taunting; it showed only that he was feeling brutally genuine.

Kaiba's anger flared…

…And smothered. He could not respond. The words spoken were true. He had been failing at nurturing even one relationship. Even if he had wanted others around, he would likely not succeed in keeping them near.

The pharaoh placed a hand on Kaiba's shoulder and squeezed, but the brunet pulled it off of him by the wrist. The spirit retracted his reach and stood by, arms crossed.

"I sensed you were contending with an issue. I only came to offer my assistance." Kaiba opened his mouth to dismiss the spirit, but pursed his lips instead, choosing to remain silent. He lifted the picture frame and began to study it once more while the silence wore on.

After what felt like it would probably have been minutes in the physical world, Kaiba took a breath and set the frame down in his lap.

"The first time I was here…" His eyes narrowed, as though he were deep in thought. Perhaps his words were simply those thoughts overflowing. Kaiba, having found his words, went on.

"…when I sat down, this room changed. Everything was much brighter; made of gold. I was… that man I've seen in the visions Ishizu showed me. And I was holding Yugi's puzzle in my lap."

"That's truly fascinating, Kaiba." The pharaoh spoke quietly, in gentle awe.

"I chose another chair this time," he went on, gesturing to his current seat. "Nothing much happened. Mokuba's image changed slightly." His thumb gently graced the side of the silver frame.

"For… better? Or…?"

"For better," he nodded.

"How odd. Kaiba, you have seen my own chamber. It is…"

"Expansive," Kaiba cut in.

"Yes," the king chuckled. "But though it is different in some way each time I enter, it is not nearly so… _interactive_ as your room seems to be. And I think I understand why that is."

Kaiba rested his chin on his knuckles again and turned his face toward the other man. He appeared, to the pharaoh's surprise, to be at least halfway interested in what he was about to say.

"You are doing a significant amount of soul-searching as of late."

"I would not call it that."

"Of course… you don't believe in souls. But it is only a term, and I believe you know what I mean. I suspect that through your attempts to improve yourself, or your quality of life perhaps - whatever may be your goal - your mind is using this room to try to assist you. To set you on the best path to accomplish your goals."

"And how does… _it_… know what I should do?" He was skeptical, untrusting.

"Just like I explained about my own chamber: our minds know _us_. And they are helping us to know _them_." He gave Kaiba time to absorb these thoughts. "I hope that offers you some amount of clarity. I believe I shall take my leave, but if you wish for me to return, you need only call to me." Kaiba nodded absently and the pharaoh left his host to his thoughts.

Kaiba was not fond of, or even very familiar with, the concept of putting his trust in something. Mokuba had spent his life proving to be reliable to his brother. Kaiba trusted him. This spirit? Kaiba could claim he hardly knew, much less understood, this fragment of imagination who had invaded his life, but even he wasn't convinced that was accurate. Yes, he did know the man. They had dueled, numerous times. That was unmistakable at this point. They had even fought battles _together_. Kaiba knew this man's strategies, his intentions, he knew his cues. He had even gone so far as to have counted on the other a few times. But to say he _trusted_ him may have been going a little too far.

Kaiba's mind? It was supposedly the thing that determined _who he is_. It was his essence. Kaiba had honed his skills and shaped himself to be a force his brother, as well as he himself, could find reliable. _Reliable_. Trustworthiness, on the other hand, was not something Kaiba had aimed his attentions on. It was true the two were typically synonymous. However, in this case Kaiba knew it was his _skills_ he relied on, but himself? He could turn his back on his own intentions and abandon his system of values in the blink of an eye if the situation required it. And now he was being told to _trust_ in his own mind, as though there were no risk of betrayal? Could he afford to let that happen? Could Mokuba afford for his brother to let that to happen?

Did either of them have a choice?

Kaiba returned the photo to its place on the table once more, though keeping his eyes glued to it. As he stood and his peripheral vision shifted with him, something out of place in the distance caught his eye. Along one of the blank, white walls - across from the heavily cracked wall - was the rectangular outline of a door. As he approached the outline became more visible and Kaiba was able to pick out the door handle, also white.

_How had I not seen this before? …I guess it's new?_ Kaiba wrapped his slender fingers around the handle, keeping his guard up for the forewarned traps he may find, and pulled the door open.

The light centered on Kaiba's chest had not dimmed, but there seemed to be some sort of shadow in the air of this room that prevented illumination to penetrate much of this addition. Kaiba allowed his eyes to adjust before taking a few easy steps into the dim area.

If the first room had felt cramped, then this room was but a closet. He could not distinguish much of his new surroundings, but he could tell the floor felt different under his feet than the hard, smooth floor of the previous room. This surface felt rough, but not gritty like sand or dirt. More like he were standing on old bricks. He could not see well enough to tell if these walls were also bare, nor was he willing to reach out and examine them. He could, however, just make out a small wooden table pushed against the far wall, not much larger than the pedestal his parents' portrait rested on just around the corner. This table had nothing on top of it; however, upon kneeling and leaning close Kaiba saw faint carvings in the wood. Carvings he found annoyingly familiar, ones he was accustomed to seeing in a rather large stone.

The entire image from the stone tablet was not displayed here. Only the image of the Pharaoh, the man who had left Kaiba's chamber only moments ago, was shown. A small knob below the surface of the table indicated a disclosed drawer and Kaiba opted to slide it open. The only item he found inside was a leather cord holding a tiny gold ornament: what appeared to be an exact, though miniature, replica of the millennium puzzle. Kaiba tossed the necklace back into the drawer and slammed it shut, rolling his eyes. _This place is getting to me,_ he thought while he stalked out of the closet-like space. He closed the door behind himself and leaned back against it, trying to get his thoughts straight so he could even hope to understand what he needed to do. He allowed his eyes to flash to the portrait of his parents in the corner, but quickly made a move for the exit. As far as he was concerned, he was done here.

* * *

"_But why should choosing a different seat make such a big difference? The entire room transformed the first time I sat down. I wasn't even myself anymore._

"_Yes, you said you were the Seto from the past."_

"_If that's what you want to call it."_

"_But that's not the point,"_ the pharaoh agreeably dismissed._ "Can you tell me a little more about this alternate room? What did it look like?"_

"_Gold. And stone. There was another painting, on the wall across from where I sat. Some woman, but I couldn't see who it was. What I saw of her did not look familiar to me."_

"_Where were you sitting?"_

"_I suppose it was… a throne."_

"_A throne? Hmm. And you had the puzzle in your lap."_

"_I hadn't noticed it was even there until I stood up."_

"_What happened when you did that?"_

"_The first room came back and I was myself again. The puzzle never hit the floor."_

"_The chair you were sitting in when I entered your room was _not_ the seat you'd chosen when the room shifted, correct?"_

"_I thought I'd made that clear enough, but yes. Are you going somewhere with this?"_

"_Where _were_ you sitting when that happened?"_

"_The seat next to it. At the head."_

"_You were sitting at… the head… which turned into a throne."_ Kaiba's eyes flickered at the sudden connection.

"_Yes."_

"_But sitting elsewhere had a different effect."_

"…_It partially restored Mokuba's image."_

"_What do you imagine the quality of Mokuba's image may symbolize?"_

"…_Our relationship. He has… not always approved of my actions, nor my attitude. I suppose my behavior affects him more than I anticipated."_

"_And you have somehow been improving this image; this relationship."_

"_Apparently. By sitting in a chair."_ He was doubtful.

"_A specific chair," _the king absorbed these revelations.

"_No, that's not right. Not a specific chair."_

"_Hm?"_

"Not_ a specific chair. I'll bet any of them would do the same, so long as it specifically _isn't_ the head chair. The one that turns into a throne."_ Kaiba turned away from the translucent spirit to stare out his office window.

"_I'm not sure I follow."_

"_A throne is a seat for kings."_

"_Yes…?"_

"_Rulers are known… at least in my - and my brother's - experience,"_ his mind flitted to Gozaburo, as well as the other men who'd tried to control them in the past, and then briefly to himself, _"…for abusing their power. As well as their subjects. Mokuba does not approve of oppression. The concepts upsets him greatly."_

"_I see! And by choosing _not_ to accept the seat of a king, you are choosing to accept…"_ Kaiba looked back to the spirit, and nodded.

Humility.

"_I understand."_ The pharaoh went on._ "…You have quite the task set before you, Kaiba."_

The CEO gave a dry laugh. _"I'll do what it takes."_


	12. Fractured Foundation

A/N: Hello everyone! As promised, I'm updating again this week, and there will still be the regular posting on Sunday as usual. I meant to post this one last night, but… we all know how life can get in the way. I apologize if the last update was confusing. I know these recent chapters have been jam-packed with symbolism and getting the story is sort of dependant on whether or not my abstract ideas come across as understandable to you guys. Sorry if they're not. Hopefully as the story progresses, things will make more sense. The last chapter was basically revolving around Kaiba coming to terms with the idea that he has a lot of growing to do. (Heh, isn't that sort of the theme for the whole story, though?) Anyhow, this chapter is on much the same grounds, and once again there isn't much for action in this, but that's why I've decided to start posting more frequently. I will let you guys know, this story is coming to an end in a few weeks, so long as I keep up with this double posting.

Anyway, thank you all for your support - I see I've gotten a small handful of new followers recently - hello to you and I hope you enjoy the rest of Shift! Reviews are, as always, welcome, highly appreciated, and downright make my day, and thank you to everyone who's left one. Now, on to the story, shall we?

* * *

"I don't believe there is much more that can be learned from this vision, Kaiba. I do not have anything else to offer as insight here." Agreeing, the brunet pulled himself from his golden throne and watched the setting before him morph once more into white walls and modern furniture.

"I am, however, still curious as to the nature of the fractured state of this corner."

"I don't understand why this is so important." Kaiba spoke to the man next to him.

"Neither do I. But I do understand that everything in this room is relevant to something. Your throne room is clearly related to your ancient past in Egypt," he ignored the look of protest growing on the other's face, "whether you will admit to having one or not."

"Fine, then. What is this enormous, hideous crack relevant to?" Kaiba gestured widely to the fissure in front of them.

"You tell me." Kaiba shot him a look, and he held his hands up defensively. "This is your life, Kaiba. I can't possibly know it like you do."

"I'm grateful for the little things…"

The pharaoh shot _him_ a look this time. "No, you aren't."

"No, but I'm grateful for _that_, at least. You've intruded on my life more than enough for my tastes. You don't need to know everything."

"Nor do I wish to. But I do desire to assist you in figuring out your puzzle."

"I fail to understand your fascination with my mind." _It's actually a little creepy,_ Kaiba thought to himself, not caring if the spirit could hear his thoughts in their current state or location, though he presumed they were limited to communicating only through the words they spoke aloud while together in their mind rooms.

"I can study my own mind's room-"

"Labyrinth," Kaiba cut in, correcting.

"-anytime," the pharaoh finished for himself, looking a little perturbed from the interruption. "However, if all goes as planned, I will only be with you a short while, and I may as well help whilst I am here.

"Whatever. If you feel like wasting your time…"

"What else am I doing with it?" _Touché_, Kaiba thought, but said nothing.

"Anyhow, what I was saying… These large cracks in the walls are not the only cracks seen in this room, correct?"

"Mokuba's picture," he muttered as an answer.

"So this is a bit of a theme. And you have determined that those small fractures in his image symbolize your previously dwindling relationship with him."

"You have such a way with words." Kaiba droned, immersed in staring, possibly studying, the broken wall in front of him.

"All I am trying to say is that these two symbols are likely connected."

"I caught that." Kaiba chirped with fake enthusiasm. The pharaoh seemed to ignore him.

"The cracks on the painting seem to symbolize destruction, so these larger ones on the walls must have some similar meaning."

"That's brilliant, detective, really. What else have you figured out?" Kaiba mocked. The pharaoh rolled his eyes and went on.

"It's strange though… these cracks crawl across a large portion of the _floor_." Kaiba's eyes followed those of the Egyptian as he went about his thoughts. "Then, Kaiba, what…? What event in your life would have been so devastating to fracture the very _foundation_ of your mind?"

Kaiba's eyes met the smaller man's and, blinking, his face fell blank. Realization flitted across his gaze and he reached out to touch the wall. He closed his eyes when his fingers brushed ever-so-lightly against the rough tear in the structure.

"_You're weak!"_

Kaiba shuddered and pulled back his hand.

"Are you… alright?" The pharaoh asked quietly in concern. Kaiba was silent, but the king could sense the other man trying to maintain his willpower.

"Not an event… A man." Kaiba said quietly. "I tried to destroy him." The pharaoh doubted that the statement were directed at him, or if Kaiba even knew he was voicing the words aloud, but Kaiba continued speaking. "But every time I believe I have, he finds some way to come crawling back." He was fighting a low growl, fists now clenched at his sides.

The pharaoh came to full understanding. "And… this is largely what Battle City was about, if I am not mistaken?"

Kaiba's eyes flashed with fury.

"Battle City…" He began murmuring, his eyes narrowing. "This… _He_, is what _everything_ was about. Every goal I wanted to achieve. Every battle I fought. Every opponent I ever destroyed was _him_. He finds a way to creep into everything I do, leaving a rotten stench on everything he touches," he said through a tightly clenched jaw.

"_Hngh!"_ Kaiba threw his fist into the center of the crack in the wall, sending tiny little splits into the surface surrounding his white knuckles.. "And he's finally gotten his grubby _fucking_ hands on my little brother." The brunet seemed to believe he was the only one in the room, as he began mumbling incoherently. The pharaoh decidedly backed away to give him a little extra space. "Sonofabitch… dead…" The pharaoh strained to hear the man's ramblings, but couldn't make out any more.

"Kaiba?"

"Goddammit, he's _dead_!" Kaiba ground his fist into the wall he had just punched, and as a result, a low rumbling resounded from the floor as the cracks threatened to grow.

The pharaoh reached out and gently rested a hand on the CEO's shoulder, and he did not shake it off or pull away. Instead Kaiba took a deep, slow breath and squeezed his eyes shut. The rumblings beneath the men's feet ceased, and the cracks did not grow further. Yami spoke in a low warning tone, nearing a whisper.

"Be careful, Kaiba. Can you see what you're doing to yourself?" He gestured to the cracks that now stretched further across the floor. "This is the type of reaction that proves his efforts have worked on you."

"I know," he whispered. His fist finally dropped to his side.

"Would you like some privacy? I can leave if you would prefer."

"I don't care." The pharaoh took that to be as close to a 'no' as he was going to get, and so he remained where he stood. He let this hand slide off the other's shoulder.

"What do you mean…" The pharaoh tried to choose his words cautiously so as to not set off the other's anger again, "when you say he'd gotten to your brother?" Kaiba slowly turned his face toward the smaller man, studying him briefly before he would answer. He took another long breath, and his eyes began to wander the relatively empty room as he spoke.

"Everything I am today is a product of my stepfather's… shall I say, parenting _methods_. Regardless of what that may mean to me, or to my self-image, Mokuba is undoubtedly effected second-hand by the damage he inflicted on me while I was a child. As you've seen," Kaiba paused to gesture behind them toward Mokuba's painting, "I have my work cut out for me in repairing what's been broken."

"Yes, I see that. But I'm still not certain that I understand."

"My father was heavily abusive. Perhaps not so much physically - he had henchmen to do that for him. But, mentally, he tormented my brother and I. He worked me to the bone as a child, pushing me past my limits in every way, all so he could prepare me to rule over a company that profited on war. He crushed any of my efforts to hold onto who I used to be as a boy. And Mokuba had to helplessly watch all of this happen. Of course, it made me who I am today, but I have no illusion that my life is all roses." Kaiba paused, deep in reflection. "It's infuriating to know that bastard can still cause so much destruction, even from the grave," he growled.

"It will not always be this way, Kaiba."

"Care to make a wager on that?" He challenged bitterly. "I'd been trying to get out from underneath my stepfather's fist for six years. I thought I finally had him when Mokuba and I took his company…" He went back to studying the blemish in the wall. "But nothing really changed. He may have died but he twisted me into a version of himself before doing so. I can't escape that. I never wanted to be like him." He shook his head to clear his thoughts, sandy brown locks resettling in the act. _Neither had Mokuba…_

"If there had been anything in my life to 'fracture my foundation', as you'd put it, I can't think of anything more fitting than him."

The pharaoh said nothing to this, and a silence settled over the room. Kaiba was tense; he seemed uncomfortable.

"So," he started quietly, "am I supposed to find a way to mend this as well? Because I'll admit, I don't know much about drywall..." Yami chuckled lightly, happy to see that the tense moment seemed to have diminished, although the other's face hardly reflected that. The brunet's hatred for Kaiba Senior appeared to be so intense that he was afraid it might swallow the young man alive, if it had not already. If that were to happen, the spirit resolved that he wanted to be anywhere but right here when it did.

"That is entirely up to you, Kaiba. These rooms are a manifestation of our experiences, and their results. They appear to be real here because that is our minds' way of making it easier for us to understand ourselves. But in actuality everything in here is purely symbolical. Trying to repair the drywall will not help you." He smiled at the end, but the expression was quick to fade. He turned to face the other man directly, and the brunet looked him in the eye. "If you want to improve yourself, or have any hope of restoring your bond with your brother completely, then yes, I would suppose you are going to need to fix this. I don't think the cracks on that painting will disappear entirely until you do." Kaiba closed his eyes for a moment, and when they opened again, he turned back to the fissure.

"I can't erase him. I've already tried."

"I understand. I remember. Your duel tower went down because of him."

"Yes." Kaiba nodded. "It was the original Kaiba Corporation headquarters."

The Egyptian nodded. "Perhaps there is another way around the issue. Maybe erasing him is not the key. After all, Kaiba, our experiences, both good and bad, shape who we will become. As you said yourself, his mistreatment during your childhood has made you who you are right now. We all have a choice to either live with our past… or allow it to destroy us." Kaiba looked down at the floor, frowning as he examined the intensity of the fissures beneath his feet, kicking at the loose pieces.

"I do believe that I may take my leave now. It would seem you have a lot to digest." Kaiba nodded, not lifting his gaze from the ground. "But I will only be across the hall. Should you require anything, you need only call to me." He made his way to the door.

Kaiba still stood looking down upon the wreckage, arms crossed. "Don't get lost," he called as the door to the hallway was pulled open.

* * *

A/N: Can anyone else hear Rafiki talking to Simba right now? "Ah, the past _can_ hurt. But you can either run from it, _or_,"_ Swoosh!_ "Learn from it." *giggles* Sorry... just popped into my head and it is kind of my favorite childhood movie of all time... I didn't mean to incorporate it here though! Anyway, thanks for reading, and I hope to see you all this weekend!


	13. Negotiations

"Mr. Kaiba, there's a man here to see you," his receptionist informed him through the intercom.

_Yugi. _"Tell this man that I haven't the time for visitors. He'll just have to wait until I return home."

"He says he's here for a business meeting with you."

"Does he have an appointment?"

"No sir."

"Then tell him 'good day' and shut the doors behind him."

"But sir, he did say his matter is urgent and that you would agree if you spoke to him."

"...What is his name?"

"It seems that he goes by Bakura."

_"Ryou? What's he doing so far from home? And what could he want with you?"_ The pharaoh asked curiously.

_"I haven't the slightest,"_ he lied, though hoping the other would not detect his sarcasm.

"Fine, send him in, but tell him to make it quick."

Seto Kaiba's office doors burst open and the white-haired man with a British accent strolled in.

"Hello, Kaiba. Long time, no see," he chuckled darkly. Kaiba regarded him with a nod.

"To what do I owe the pleasure?" He droned with an obvious lack of sincerity.

"I've come to make you an offer, Kaiba."

"_Hold on, this isn't Ryou. Kaiba, be careful. You've dealt with this man before. He's capable of more than either of us understand."  
_

Bakura pulled his millennium ring from beneath his shirt where it had been concealed. He made a show of admiring its golden shine under the fluorescent lighting in the CEO's office, making certain it was clearly seen.

"_I don't believe I understand your shock."_

The pharaoh shook his head. _"You don't know him like I do. Ryou isn't like this. _This_ is Bakura, the spirit of the millennium ring. I don't trust him. Neither should you."  
_

"_Am I to gather then that his bipolar behavior during my tournament was due to this spilt personality?"  
_

"_Yes, Kaiba. Bakura has inhabited Ryou's mind. It seems as though he has little control over the spirit."  
_

"_That sounds vaguely familiar,"_ Kaiba spat.

"_Please, Kaiba. Must you be against me so? I realize you did not ask to be put in this predicament, but neither did I. Despite whatever you seem to feel about me, I am not your enemy. _That," He gestured to Bakura, still content in examining his ring. _"Is your enemy."_

"_You certainly have not convinced me that we're allies, or any such thing. As for him, I'll form my own opinion."_

"Are you two through discussing me just yet?" Kaiba narrowed his eyes at the man, while the pharaoh's own orbs bulged upon hearing the spirit of the ring knew of his presence. "Oh, don't bother asking how I know of you, pharaoh. Yes, I am fully aware of your presence in this room. But I am not here to discuss business with _you_. I came to deal with Kaiba." His eyes held a venomous danger that held the pharaoh at bay, but Kaiba couldn't help but be intrigued.

"What kind of offer do you intend to make me?"

"First I want you, _both_ of you, to understand. I know what has happened between you and little Yugi. My ring, here," he held the item up even more prominently, "has led me to the knowledge that the millennium puzzle no longer resides with its rightful owner."

"_Watch yourself, Bakura,"_ the pharaoh warned, although he knew he could not be heard by anyone but Kaiba.

"And?" Kaiba pressed.

"And, while Yugi is difficult for me to sway, I have something I can offer you, Kaiba, that you may be persuaded to make a trade."

"_NO!"_ The pharaoh growled.

"What might that be?"

"_Kaiba! This is exactly what Ishizu warned us about! We cannot afford to allow the puzzle to fall into the hands of men like him!"_

Kaiba just smirked. _"I don't know about you. But there's nothing _I_ can't afford."_

"Let me ask you something, Kaiba. It is a bit of a personal question, but I think you'll understand where I'm headed in just a moment."

"Go on."

"Do you, as a businessman, ever desire to have more faithful workers serving you?"

Kaiba nodded to the man with green hair and sunglasses standing by, guarding his office entrance. "My employees - _some_ of them at least," he corrected, thinking of the Big 5, "- have proven to be remarkably faithful."

"Allow me to elaborate. When I say 'more faithful', I am not speaking strictly of degree. I am speaking of quantity."

"I see. Yes, I would agree I could run a more efficient company if I had a larger percentage of workers I could trust."

"_Kaiba., whatever he says, do not give in to him!"_ The CEO acted as though he had not heard.

"Then, Kaiba, it seems we may have grounds for negotiation."

"You haven't made clear what it is you're offering."

Bakura closed his eyes and smirked deeply. "Kaiba, I am offering you power on levels of which you cannot imagine! I can give you the resources to make the empire of Kaiba Corporation unstoppable, making _you_ a legacy. Even when the time comes for your body to die, your name and reputation, and certainly power, will live on."

"I'll believe it when I see it."

"_You don't need that, Kaiba! Look how powerful your company already is! You control the world's gaming industry. What more do you need?"_

"Allow me to elaborate further, then," Bakura suggested. "I will not offer you men - by nature, their will allows them to be far too easily distracted. What I can provide you with is a way to crush the will of the workers you already have."

"I've already mastered that skill. How do you think I've gotten this far already, at my age?"

"In your own way, yes you have. You are quite talented at getting what you want out of people. But I can do more for you than you could in a lifetime on your own."

"I'm not interested in any partner deals."

"Oh, no, Kaiba. I do not wish to be a part of this. I will simply give you a method to harness, and I will be on my way. You will not hear from me regarding this again, as long as I get what I desire out of the deal." Kaiba regarded the man, but did not speak. The pharaoh stood by, invisible to Bakura and silent to Kaiba, hoping with all his might that the brunet would turn him down.

"So if I am to understand you correctly," Kaiba eyed the white-haired man, "You are willing to give me this… _power_, as you've called it, and in payment you desire Yugi's puzzle."

"You're on track so far."

"And my giving it to you will shut this leech out of my mind. It sounds like you're trying to do me a favor," he noted suspiciously. "What's the catch?"

"There is no catch."

"_There is always a catch. Do not allow him to deceive you, I beg of you."_ Kaiba did not respond to either man.

"You see, Kaiba, I recognize that the little trinket you hold is of no value to you."

"But it is of value to you, apparently. Why do you desire it?"

"What do you care of my motives?"

"I'm just trying to cover my own ass." He stood from his leather chair to turn and gaze out the window of his US office building. "My stepfather built KaibaCorp as an arms and war vehicle manufacturing company. I know a thing or two about bargaining with men one does not fully trust." He turned back to glare at his visitor. "I don't wish to be hasty. For all I know, I would be selling you a formidable weapon. Perhaps one you intend to use against me in the future. I am not foolish enough to place a loaded revolver into my enemy's hands, no matter how handsomely I may be paid for doing so. I'd never know if, and when, I may become his target." The pharaoh emitted a brief sigh of relief.

"I see. You are wise to be cautious. The item you are in possession of _is_ quite powerful. But only to those who know how to properly utilize its energy. There are few who can. I did not think to believe you would be at all interested in learning of its strengths. You are truly desiring to keep the puzzle for yourself? Surely someone as busy as you would not have time enough to care about returning the item to its previous owner."

"Of course not."

"_What? Kaiba, you can't be serious!"_

"_I never claimed to be in this for you, or for any of your little friends."_ Kaiba answered the pharaoh before regarding Bakura again.

"I was not denying your deal. I simply haven't made a decision one way or the other."

"But clearly, you are interested."

"…I could be."

"Of course, since you do not yet appear prepared to decide, I should tell you that I do not require an answer immediately. In fact, Kaiba, I'm confident the you will come around, so I will offer to let you sleep on it."

"If I choose to decline, what will you do?"

"No harm, no foul. I will not drag you further into this than necessary. I don't believe either of us have time for such petty issues."

"Hmph," was all Kaiba was willing to offer.

"Very well, then. When you decide you want to give me your answer, I will be around."

"I'll bet you will."

* * *

A/N: Oooh, the plot thickens! Sort of…

Anyway, as always, thank you all so much for your continued support, reviews, follows, favorites - all that good stuff, and just for being here, reading my story. This might have just been a taste of what coming up, but I hope you enjoyed it, and I'll see you all later this week.


	14. Fate?

Yugi was startled by the sound of the shop's telephone ringing, but jumped up eagerly to answer it, hoping each time he picked up the receiver that it might, in some way, bring him closer to the pharaoh again.

"Game shop, how can I help you?" He recited as usual, but his stomach was fluttering.

A young boy's voice came on the line. "Um, Yugi? Hi." Yugi's heart sunk a little, hoping it would have been Ishizu, or better yet, Kaiba himself.

"Ahh… Hi? I'm sorry, may I ask who's calling?"

"It's Mokuba."

"Oh, Mokuba. Sorry, I didn't recognize your voice over the phone. How can I help you?" _Maybe it has to do with the pharaoh anyway,_ Yugi thought hopefully.

"I guess first I should apologize for what happened a few weeks ago. I really didn't mean to start a fight in front of your shop."

"I understand, Mokuba. I know Jounouchi was involved too. No hard feelings. We did take down our sign, by the way. I hope that helps the situation." Mokuba felt a small pang of guilt, even though it was what he himself had wanted not long before. Now he didn't care.

"Was there anything else?"

"Yeah." He didn't elaborate right away, and a short silence ensued. Before it was allowed to grow uncomfortable, however, Mokuba gathered his thoughts and went on. "I didn't really know who else I could call who knows my brother like you would."

"Oh. Is there something on your mind, Mokuba?" He settled into his seat behind the shop's counter, filling in for his grandfather temporarily. He was thankful it had been a slow day, and he would have time to sit and talk.

"Sort of. I'm not really sure how to explain it, though."

"You said this is about your brother?" Yugi wondered now if he might get to learn more about his puzzle after all. _Has Kaiba been acting differently, from Mokuba's perspective?_ Yugi wondered.

"Yep. See, he went to the US a few weeks ago, to work on KaibaLand some more."

"Yeah, I heard about that. Is that where you're calling from?"

"No. I stayed behind. He… kinda made me."

"Oh? I figured he would have taken you along for such a long trip. Isn't he supposed to be away for a few months?"

"Yeah. I can look after myself though, and he left some guys in charge to make sure nothing happens to me while he's gone."

"Still, I could imagine that would get a little lonely after a while."

"I guess so. But I'm used to it. That's not really the problem."

"Then… what is?"

Mokuba didn't speak right away, and took a deep breath before he did.

"My brother."

"What do you mean?" _I wonder if Kaiba even told Mokuba what happened with the puzzle._

"Like I said, it's kind of hard to explain. But I think you know him better than a lot of people do, so maybe you'll get it."

"Is there some sort of problem between you two?"

"It's more like… I think that maybe there has been for a while. I just didn't really see it. He spends so much time working, that even when he has time to spend with me, he's usually in a bad mood. He isn't even the same person anymore. It's like he forgot how to have fun. He runs a gaming company, and he never plays. Can you believe that?"

"Knowing Kaiba, I think I can. Have you tried talking to him about it?"

"I try, but he hardly ever listens. Every now and then I can get him to take a break, or play a game with me, but it's never something we can do just for fun. It's always something like chess, where he gets so wrapped up in the strategy that he forgets we're supposed to just be spending time together."

"That sounds like the personality of a professional gamer to me. But you're right - he needs to learn how to turn that off sometimes when it's just the two of you." Mokuba went quiet again.

"We had a fight just before he left."

"I'm sorry to hear that, Mokuba. Is everything ok?"

"I guess so. We haven't really talked about it. That's kind of how it goes whenever we have an argument, though. Actually, the only times we've talked at all since he left is just to relay something about the business, and sometimes to check in on me too. I think he's a little suspicious these days, since some pretty bad stuff has happened when he left me alone before."

"That doesn't exactly sound healthy."

"I know. But try telling my brother that."

"Uh… no thanks!" Yugi laughed lightheartedly, and was happy to hear Mokuba join in.

"I thought so. Really, try telling him anything he does isn't right! Don't get me wrong though, I still love my brother. I guess I just get a little frustrated with him sometimes."

"I know what you mean. Maybe you can set up something you two could do together when he gets back that you'll both enjoy."

"Yeah, maybe. I'll have to think about that. Playing games used to be our favorite thing to do together when we were kids, but he's gotten so aggressive that it kind of sucks all the fun out of it. Maybe I can find a game that's not so competitive we could play. If I can convince him to take the time, that is." He laughed a little, but it sounded forced.

"Hey, if anyone knows how to tug at Kaiba's heartstrings, it would be you. I'm sure you'll find a way. And you know, if you're looking for a new game, you called the right place!"

"Yeah… I'll make sure I stop in." Mokuba agreed, but he felt less than enthusiastic. "I think all I needed was to get this off my chest."

"Then I'm happy if I was of any help at all."

"Sure. Thanks, Yugi." His voice was low, and Yugi wondered in the back of his mind if their brief talk had done any good at all. "I guess I'll talk to you later."

"Call again if you need anything."

"'Kay," he agreed, however weakly, and hung up the phone before giving a proper goodbye. He suddenly hadn't felt much like talking anymore.

* * *

The pharaoh had been pacing by himself within his mind's room, contemplating how to handle his predicament. He ached to speak to Yugi. They had always made such a good team planning how to fight their enemies together, and the pharaoh needed his friend.

On a whim, he called for Kaiba to join him. He realized as an afterthought that he had been unaware of what he may have been busying his hands with, but much to the pharaoh's surprise, he came.

"Yes?"

"Kaiba." The two men regarded each other. Though not quite a friendly greeting, it was better than exchanging a gruff insult. "I propose we play another game."

The CEO sighed. He knew that were he to comply, Bakura would step in and have his say about the outcome. However, Kaiba was not about to explain the issue to the Egyptian. Whatever conflict the two had was between them, and he had no desire to interfere. An issued challenge, though, was a reason to accept all on it's own.

"What did you have in mind this time?"

"I recognize that you have a preference toward strategy games. As do I, in fact."

"However...?"

"However... I believe there is an easier way to solve this. A game of chance."

"What's the point of a game of chance? Anyone could be the victor, and it doesn't mean a thing."

"Does that matter, as long as there's a victor?"

Kaiba took a moment to absorb this, but turned his back to the spirit before speaking in defiance. "Perhaps I've changed my mind. Maybe I'm no longer interested in letting you have the puzzle back. After all, Bakura has offered to pay me for it. But if I let you win it from me, I get nothing from the deal."

"This isn't a deal, Kaiba! You're toying with forces you do not understand! I don't know of a way to state this more clearly than I already have, Kaiba. You cannot surrender to Bakura."

"I don't recall saying I would surrender to anyone."

"You know what I'm referring to. You can't let him have the puzzle."

"Because you say so. What incentive do I have to comply to your wishes?"

"Must you ask that even now, after all we've-"

"All we've what? After all we've '_been through_'? What the hell should any of that mean to me? I have a goal to accomplish and you happened to be there at the right time with useful input. What part of _that_ makes you so damn sure you mean anything to me? Should I just drop everything and 'be nice'? Because you think we're friends, I ought to give in to you? Besides, you already said yourself that my defenses are too strong for you to take over my body again, so what real power can you possibly hold over my head?"

"Kaiba, I am not the only one who says that you're endangering many lives. Yugi's grandfather warned you of the very same thing. And I'm certain you recall what he said about Mokuba."

"Leave him out of this! You people have no right to threaten my brother! You have no power over _him_, either."

"It isn't only him that will suffer if the safety of the world is compromised. I only happen to understand that Mokuba - after yourself, of course - is the only person you could even begin to care about. However, I sometimes I wonder about even that."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"That you're so self-serving you can't see that what you're doing effects him more than you know."

"This is no business of yours, so I suggest you butt out before I get angry."

"You're always angry…" the pharaoh muttered, but the CEO seemed not to care enough to show he had even heard.

"I thought that you had initiated a challenge."

"I thought that you weren't interested."

"I never back down from a challenge. Even if it is absurd and pointless. I'll gladly accept an opportunity to show that I'm better than you."

"As you wish," the pharaoh agreed, though he was feeling rather deflated. He was prepared to produce his deck when the brunet reached into his pocket and pulled out a handful of change instead.

"I can afford to spend a few minutes proving to you how pointless all of this is. Heads or tails; best two out of three." He produced two of his largest coins.

"Honestly? That's hardly what I had in mind."

"You wanted a game of chance, and here it is. So quit complaining and call." He held one of the two coins in each hand over the tip of his thumb, prepared to send each of them flying through the air. Kaiba studied the pharaoh's face, awaiting his call.

"Heads."

"Very well. Heads, you win. If it's a draw, I'll flip a third."

"And if it's tails?"

"Tails, you grovel at my feet."

"I didn't realize you'd take such a simple game so seriously," he scoffed. He may have initiated this, but he was hardly feeling a game of 'heads or tails'. Regardless, here they were, so they might as well play. "Go."

Kaiba let the coins fly through the air. _Bakura, do your thing,_ he thought. The coins clattered to the floor. The sound, though small, echoed off of the stone walls. Both men peered down at the coins, and a scowl crossed the pharaoh's features.

"Just my luck," he muttered, before turning to stalk away.

"Ahem?" Kaiba gestured to his feet, a triumphant grin on his face. The pharaoh narrowed his eyes before turning again to walk away.

"I did not agree to those terms. I will not be reduced to groveling by a pair of coins." Stopped in the middle of the room, he sighed deeply. He did not look at the taller man as he spoke. "Perhaps I ought to stop trying to defeat you. It feels as though fate is trying to tell me this is not how I ought to combat this dreadful scenario. I will have to leave it all up to Yugi, now." _I can only continue to hope that Kaiba will not trade away the puzzle before Yugi can face him again._

Kaiba did not reply, and the pharaoh quietly slipped through a doorway into some other part of his chamber. The CEO bent to pick up his coins, but was not surprised when he stood again to see that another had joined him and was standing nearby, silent.

"It would seem he has convinced himself that _fate_ is doing this to him," Kaiba said with a light chuckle, and Bakura joined in.

* * *

A/N: Hey, guys. Just wanted to take a minute to point out my motive for the first part of this story. I originally wanted Mokuba to confide in Rebecca Hawkins instead of Yugi here, but had to remind myself that I don't think those two actually meet onscreen until after the Atlantis arc, so that wasn't an option. Yugi seems to be a bit of a comfort zone for Mokuba (cue the three-part Legendary Heroes mini-story), but Mokuba's also kind of snippy with Yugi's friends at times. This is a behavior I've noticed from him starting with one of his first appearances in the early manga where he tries to kill them with cheeseburgers but later worries aloud to the spirit of the puzzle if his brother's ever going to be ok after his penalty game during Death-T, which I saw as Mokuba seeking comfort. So maybe it sort of seems like I'm not being consistent, but my not being consistent is my trying to stick to what I've observed of him. I think Mokuba has been through enough at such a young age that he just doesn't know how (or if he even wants) to put his whole trust into someone other than nii-sama. At least, that's my take on it all.

I just wanted to clarify why Mokuba might come off as a little unbalanced at times. He respects his brother, looks up to him, knows he takes care of him, but he also wants Kaiba to make an effort in making their family still sort of feel like one, because it's all they have. Sorry to drone on. Opinion is opinion.


	15. Takeover

A/N: Hey guys! Sorry I'm posting this pretty late tonight - I had quite an eventful day. Anyhow, I'd really like to know what you guys are thinking of how the story's progressing! I haven't gotten a lot of reviews lately, so I'm pretty lost on what your general response has been for the last few chapters or so. Comments, concerns, and even complaints are welcome so long as I know what you guys are thinking! Feedback is so incredibly valuable to me as a writer. It helps me shape my story around what _you guys_ want to read, helps me see things I might not have caught on my own, and it helps me improve any issues someone may have had so I don't repeat mistakes - not just in this story alone, but it helps improve the others I have in progress as well.

And as always, thank you so very much to everyone who has been reviewing, as favoriting and following as well. Your support helps pull me through! :)

Anyway, let's get to the story finally, shall we?

* * *

"_Bakura has returned? He must be waiting on your decision." _The CEO did not regard the pharaoh, but lifted his eyes to the entrance of the study he inhabited in his lavish suite. The white-haired man stepped over the threshold, and the butler who had announced and led him in disappeared.

"_You know in your heart what you must tell him, Kaiba,"_ the pharaoh said but Kaiba brushed his comment aside.

"Hello, Kaiba. How good to see you again."

"If you're here expecting an answer, you've wasted your time." The pharaoh sighed with relief, but it was short lived. Kaiba gestured to his stack of papers; blueprints that needed analyzing and contracts that needed the company president's signature of approval. "Does it look like I would have had a proper amount of time to have made an informed decision already?"

"I see you're overworked. But I am a busy man as well, and I do not have the time to wait too long for you to make up your mind. I will give you until the end of your little vacation, and then I will find you again. And when I do, I expect a conclusion."

"Strange; I'm beginning to feel a vibe as though I'm making a deal with the Devil."

"Oh, Kaiba, I assure you, I am much worse than that which you call the Devil. But as long as one cooperates with me, I have no reason to make him an enemy."

"I am not impressed," Kaiba returned. Bakura laughed.

"If you do happen to make up your mind before then, you may contact me here." He pulled a business card out of his jacket and flicked it onto Kaiba's desk. He picked it up and slipped it into his own jacket pocket without so much as glancing at it.

"All that being said, I see no further reason for you to be here." Without offering a proper farewell, the CEO turned back to his work.

"Very well, I see my company is not wanted."

"How perceptive of you," Kaiba said under his breath.

"Before I depart, let me say this: you would do well to have decided upon the wiser path before we meet again. As I am certain you can relate, I do not take kindly to having my time wasted." Bakura took his leave from the CEO's suite. Kaiba ignored the remark and continued to work.

"_That almost sounded like a threat."_

"_So it did," _Kaiba replied, uninterested. The pharaoh watched Kaiba work, knowing the man could feel the concern emanating from him_._

Irritated, Kaiba sighed_. __"__Is there some sort of problem?__"_

"_Are you not worried that he may become an obstacle?"_

"_Why do you care?"_

"_I fear that Bakura has malicious intent. And if his malice is against you - or later turns against you for not cooperating with him, then I have fair reason to be worried, since you and I are linked."_

"_I have something he wants, so it makes no sense for him to incapacitate me before he has it, since he won't be able to get it from me if I am disenabled. After he has it, I can't say what his intentions will be. One way or the other, though, I highly doubt you would be in any danger._ _If he gets his hands on your little trinket," _Kaiba tapped his temple with a forefinger,_ "you won't be in here anymore. So it shouldn't matter to _you_ what he may be willing to do to _me_."_

The pharaoh wanted to protest the logic Kaiba was using, but felt that arguing the particular aspect of the subject would show little results. _"__What about your home?__"_ he asked instead._"__It seemed as though he were heading back to Japan soon. Perhaps he has other ways of getting what he wants.__"_ Kaiba eyed the other man as he thought over the implications of his words. Without replying directly, he picked up his telephone receiver and dialed. After a few rings, a man's voice came on the line.

"Yes, mister Kaiba. How can I help you?"

"Isono. Have there been intrusions of any sort since my departure?"

"If you could elaborate…?"

"Have there been any break-ins or other attempts on my security, either at KaibaCorp HQ or my private estate?"

"No sir, nothing of the sort. Alarms are in perfect working order, and your security team has been on guard."

"Step up the security anyway. Lock down the garage and storage areas, as well as my production workshop where the VR pods are kept. Beware of a possible malevolent individual. You may recognize him from the Battle City semifinals." Kaiba gave his employee a brief description of Bakura, and ended his call, turning back to the pharaoh.

"_I believe that was entirely unnecessary, so I hope you feel better now. Enough to stop you from whining, preferably."_

"_Hmm. But do you? I notice you didn't say anything about keeping Mokuba safe."_

"_Mokuba _is _being kept safe. You're making a big deal out of nothing, and frankly, it's getting on my nerves."_

"_Honestly Kaiba, why are you so convinced you can trust him?"_

"_I never said that I do. But that doesn't mean there isn't any benefit to striking a deal with him."_

"_You say that, even though your doing so could put the whole world in danger!"_

"_You people and your so-called prophecies!"_ Kaiba scoffed._ "I have no interest in fairy tales. Haven't I made it clear to you before that I make my own 'destiny', as you're so fond of calling it?"_

"_I can certainly say that you've made it clear just how stubborn you can be even when proof is right in front of your eyes. Bakura doesn't want the puzzle to use as a paperweight! What do you_ think _he intends to do with it?"_

"_Why should I care? As long as he holds up his end of the agreement, I can't be bothered by the rest of this nonsense."_

"_And what if he's lying to you? What if there is no payment to be made?"_

"_I am a businessman. Do you honestly believe I would enter into an agreement and let somebody get away with defaulting on a payment? And if he somehow managed to work his way through a loophole and cheat me, then there would be retribution."_

"_And you think that whatever you can do against this man with be enough to stop him from getting - or doing - what he wants?"_

"_I'm beginning to think that whatever horrific plan you think he has in mind can't possibly leave me any worse off than being stuck here, dealing with you,"_ he retorted.

"_This is outrageous! You are acting ridiculous!"_

Kaiba looked the spirit dead in the eyes, and spoke aloud. "I suppose I am, aren't I? After all, look at me. I'm having a yelling match inside my head."

"_Kaiba, enough. Please."_

"Enough, indeed. I'm beginning to believe I've made up my mind after all. I think watching the world crumble - since you're so convinced that's what's going to happen - would be less excruciating than this."

"_Please, stop. Think about what you're saying! We have no idea what he's after!"_

"I've thought about this long enough. Do not deceive yourself, that you may forget you are nothing more than an intruder; a parasite. _And you are getting in my way._" He finished with a menacing tone that echoed through both their minds. "It seems I've made up my mind, quite sooner than I expected." Kaiba retrieved the card Bakura had given him from the pocket he'd tucked it into, and prepared to dial the number listed on it.

"_NO!"_ The pharaoh yelled, desperately hoping to reach out to Kaiba. _"Please, don't do this!"_

"There isn't any way you can stop me, and there isn't any reason I should want to. Give it up," Kaiba demanded authoritatively. He lifted the receiver to his ear.

"_Kaiba, I cannot allow you to proceed with this!"_ Without thinking, the pharaoh reached out his hands to grab onto Kaiba's wrist which had been hovering over the dial pad of his telephone. Although frustrated, he realized he was not surprised when his fingers passed right through him.

"You can't touch me. There isn't anything you can do," he said smugly. "I'm going to end this right now, once and for all."

"_There is no reasoning with you. I see there never has been. You leave me with no choice."_ Kaiba flashed him a look of annoyance, but paused in dialing to observe the pharaoh, not grasping what the spirit intended to do next.

Using his ability to pass through the body of his host, the pharaoh closed his eyes and dipped his hands inside the center of Kaiba's chest.

"What are you doing?" Kaiba asked in alarm. He tried to shift away from his touch, but found himself unable rid himself of the contact. The pharaoh's eyes were squeezed tightly shut, as though he were concentrating very hard. As he noticed this, Kaiba began to feel a strain on his mind, as though he were being intruded upon. He understood the feeling, relating it to when the spirit had first overtaken his host. Only this time he knew what was happening, and had the ability to fight it. Kaiba closed his eyes as well, willing his mind to be closed off from the other.

"I'm not going to let you have my body!" The two men strained against each other in the plane of their minds, each side giving it his all.

"And I am not giving you a choice!" The pharaoh shouted as his eyes snapped open, locked on his opponent. Pulling every ounce of energy and strength together, the pharaoh let loose one last burst of power and felt Kaiba's defenses snap and shatter, and he pushed through to complete the takeover. He was fatigued, and would be easily beaten now if his position were challenged. But Kaiba, whose spirit has appeared next to his body, exhausted and slumped over on the floor, was in no condition to compose such a challenge just yet. With what remained of the pharaoh's strength, he set out to do what he knew he must.

He began by picking up the telephone receiver from Kaiba's desktop where it had fallen, and immediately dialed the number of the Kame Game Shop. Yugi was quick to answer.

"Game Shop, how can-" The pharaoh cut him off.

"Yugi."

"Kaiba?"

"Not quite, my friend." The line was silent as the gears in Yugi's head turned, but he was quick to understand, and excitement bloomed in his chest.

"Pharaoh! Is it really you I'm talking to?"

"Yes, and there is something of great importance I must discuss with you."

"What is it?" Yugi's voice said he was concerned, but on the other end of the line, he wore a small smile. Though the pharaoh could not see this, he knew. As much as he wanted to just talk with his partner, he knew he had to act quickly and get his message across, lest Kaiba regain his energy and interrupt him.

"There has been a problem. Kaiba has been contacted by the spirit of the millennium ring."

"Bakura?" Yugi asked in astonishment.

"Yes. He wishes to make a trade with Kaiba. He has offered to provide him with some source of power, some means of controlling his workers' will so that his corporation may become unstoppable. I have tried to relay to him that I do not believe such power exists - or if it does, and Bakura _does_ have a way of wielding, and even giving it - I do not believe that he can be trusted to hold up his end of the bargain."

"And what does he want in exchange for giving Kaiba this power, if he has it?" Yugi asked, although he feared he already knew.

"The millennium puzzle."

"I thought so. What would happen to you if he gets it?"

"Bakura would become my new host. And I am fearful of what may happen to me if he is allowed so much power over me."

"Wait… can he do that? Can Kaiba just _give away_ the power of the pharaoh that comes with the puzzle?"

"No, he cannot give it away freely. But Kaiba and Bakura would be making a fair trade - in theory, at least."

"I take it Kaiba wants to accept his offer?"

"Bakura was recently here, and he left Kaiba his contact information to call when he'd made up his mind. I have been asking him not to agree to it, but he refuses to listen to me. He was in the process of calling Bakura back to take the puzzle away, and I had to stop him. Yugi, I don't have much time."

"Where is Kaiba now?"

The pharaoh glanced down to where Kaiba's spirit had appeared, and noted that he seemed as if he were sleeping. "He is… incapacitated," he replied. "But for how long, I don't know. We must hurry."

"What do you need me to do?" Yugi took on a tone that said he was standing by, awaiting his orders.

"I need you to fly out to me. Bring Ishizu if you can. I will destroy Bakura's contact information, but I am not certain how much time that will buy us. Kaiba has seen the number already; perhaps he may have remembered it. Bakura had made it known before he left that he would be awaiting Kaiba's return to Japan, and expects him to give his agreement at that time. We cannot afford to wait that long, therefore you must defeat Kaiba in a duel before the end of his trip. If you can defeat Kaiba and win back the puzzle before Bakura shows up again, Bakura will have no hold over me. He has already stated that he knows he cannot make such a trade with you. This deal would only work because Kaiba doesn't want the puzzle."

"I get it. Then I'll be on my way as soon as I can. Let me call Ishizu and then I'll be on the next flight!"

"Thank you, Yugi. I will see you soon."

"Yeah. Goodbye, pharaoh." Yugi reluctantly ended the call, but he knew they both had work to do, and chatting was not conducive to that.

The pharaoh took another cautionary glance at the spirit of his host. Kaiba's translucent form stirred briefly but did not wake. He picked the business card off Kaiba's desk and went off in search of a flame.

The spirit located a box of matches near a decorative candle display atop the living room coffee table. He noted, unsurprised, that the candles had never been burned. He migrated to the nearest sink and turned the faucet on full. He struck the match, holding it up to the card in his hand and watching the flames lick at the paper. Once it had ignited and the ink had burned away, but before the flare could singe his fingertips, he dropped the flaming card into the water to douse it. He turned off the water but left the ashes where they lay, that Kaiba may know what he'd done.

Already, he was beginning to feel utter exhaustion wash over him, but he had accomplished what he had set out to do, so he decided to let it overcome him. He found himself back in the living room, in front of the plush sofa. He kicked off Kaiba's boots and removed his trench, and lay across the surface on his (rather, Kaiba's) stomach, slender arms wrapped around the throw pillow. He understood that by allowing himself to rest, he would evidently be relinquishing his hold over Kaiba's body, should he wake and wish to take control before the pharaoh did. The spirit didn't care if Kaiba would be unhappy at the way his body was being mistreated. No, it was not much further to Kaiba's bedroom where he could lay down to rest properly - where it may not be so damaging to his neck, or whatever excuse the CEO would use to justify being upset.

He concluded that Kaiba already had enough to be angry with him about to pay much heed to such things.

* * *

Outside Kaiba's expensive, corporate-owned hotel where the CEO and the spirit were currently dwelling, wind-swept white locks brushed across sinister eyes.

_Think what you will, Kaiba, but you and your little spirit friend will not be able to worm your way out of this. I _will_ have what I desire, one way or another._

He flipped open a small silver cell phone and held it to his ear.

"I have a little task for you," he spoke into the device.

The voice on the other end droned in response, "Yes sir."


	16. Involuntary Diversion

A/N: Warning - there is a bit of mild violence and blood in this chapter. Kinda.

* * *

Yugi dialed the number of his Egyptian friend, and she answered after four excruciatingly long rings. Yugi didn't give her time to speak.

"Ishizu, something's happened, and the pharaoh needs us."

"I am not surprised by this. Kaiba is being difficult?"

"That's an understatement… but it's not just him! Someone else is after the puzzle. Kaiba aims to let him have it." Yugi went on to explain the details of the pharaoh's strife to Ishizu, who agreed to meet him in California to confront Kaiba together.

"Ishizu, there's something else I'm a little worried about," Yugi muttered before Ishizu hung up.

"Oh?"

"But I guess that, compared to everything else that's going on it probably doesn't seem like much."

"Please Yugi, go on," she urged.

"Mokuba called me not too long ago."

"What did he have to say?"

"He seemed like he just needed someone to talk to… about his brother. I noticed a few times while I've been with them that Kaiba might be a little harsh with Mokuba."

"Kaiba is harsh with everyone, is he not?"

"Yeah, but I guess you'd expect him to be a little nicer to Mokuba. Those two are all each other has."

"And this has affected Mokuba."

"That's what he said. I don't know if it has anything to do with the puzzle or not, but maybe we can help them out if we're able to remind Kaiba of what's really important."

"That may be true. I'll do what I can."

"Thank you, Ishizu. For everything."

"My brothers and I owe you, and the pharaoh, a great deal. It is my pleasure to be of service to you. You're quite welcome, Yugi. "

Yugi was already packing a suitcase as he hung up the phone. He hadn't heard anyone come in, but his friends made themselves known immediately.

"Goin' somewhere, Yug'?" Yugi barely took note of his dear blond friend as he mentally flipped through his list of necessities.

"Uh, yeah," he answered after taking some time to think. "I have to meet Kaiba."

"But didn't he go on a trip or something?" Honda asked.

"He's in America."

"And you gotta go after him now, because…?" Yugi jammed a set of pajamas into his suitcase and slammed it shut, but struggled to close the clasps.

"Because," he strained, fighting with his luggage, "Kaiba has become convinced it would be a good idea to trade _my_ millennium puzzle to Bakura, and we may never see the pharaoh again. Not to mention the world could end."

"Of course!" Jounouchi laughed and slapped a worried Yugi on the back before he plopped onto his suitcase, making it possible for Yugi to finally close it. "This week was feeling a little dull without some guy tryin' to take over the world. So when do we fly out?"

"Um… _we_?" Yugi looked around the room at his friends, each of them wearing an eager smile. Anzu was the first to reply.

"When do we ever leave a friend behind, Yugi?" Honda and Jou nodded in unison next to her.

"I really don't want to put you in danger if I don't have to," Yugi said apprehensively. "But if you guys are all sure…?"

"Of course we're sure!" Jou answered for all three of them. "Now, when do we leave?"

Yugi smiled with resolve. "Right now."

* * *

Kaiba awoke feeling like someone had bashed him over the head with a large rock. His head ached and his mind was fatigued, as though he'd been concentrating very hard on something for an entire night instead of sleeping at all. He felt groggy and drained, but as he became more aware of his surroundings, his dazed state began to dissipate.

He hadn't fallen asleep _here,_ on his sofa. Kaiba couldn't recall going to sleep at all, but he knew he'd fallen unconscious. But here, with his boots and coat carefully set aside and no one else around to have helped him out of them, it finally dawned on Kaiba just what had happened. Not sensing the pharaoh's awareness, Kaiba immediately lay his head back down and closed his eyes, letting himself drift away to the part of his mind where he was certain to find the spirit, and confront him.

* * *

"_I have a little task for you."_

Hirutani knew he wasn't interested before he answered the call. He also understood that he wouldn't have a choice. Bakura was his master, and controlled his will. He didn't need to know the details of his mission. He only needed to know his orders. He knew his master preferred do his work himself, but occasionally found himself requiring to bring in the hands of another. When that happened, Hirutani was often called upon. Each time, he resented it from within the core of his being.

"_You see, my servant, there is an obstacle I have encountered. I require for you to… delay him. Do _not_ take his life. Do you understand me?" _He had mumbled a yes. _"Good. He will be arriving at the airport in Domino City soon. Under no circumstances are you to allow him to board an aircraft."_ Hirutani had - reluctantly, but through Bakura's hold over him - agreed and the call ended. Hirutani had immediately dropped what he had been doing and set to work. Not that he could have delayed or denied his mission if he wanted to. Already, he knew how Bakura had meant for him to carry out this plan.

Yugi and his friends had arrived together at the Domino City airport with their luggage in hand. The group of teenagers were approaching the security check near the entrance of the airport. Jounouchi, being the first in line of his friends, flashed the security guard his ID and began pulling off his shoes when the group was startled by a deafening crash behind them. He spun around in time to witness a motorcycle shattering through an enormous pane of glass, the window that made up a large portion of the outside front wall. Jounouchi was roughly shoved out of the way by the security guard as he drew his weapon and aimed it at the intruder.

The man on the motorcycle, though clearly injured, pulled himself from the wreckage and aimed his own two, military grade, firearms back at the security team that had accumulated. He wore a dark robe that obscured most of his face, and what could be seen was cut up and bloodied from the shards of glass that covered the floor.

Jounouchi and Honda ducked out of line of fire, and Anzu quickly pulled Yugi away from the action by his sleeve. Yugi allowed himself to be led away but kept his gaze on the man. His weapons were aimed at the guards, but his face was fixated on Yugi. The spiky-haired duelist couldn't break his eyes away, and nearly toppled over Jou who had bent to replace his shoes in a safer location.

"Watch out, Yug'." Anzu put a hand on the short one's back to keep her friend from falling. "Man, what's with this guy?" Jounouchi whispered to his small friend. "He's givin' me the creeps!"

"Me too." Yugi shivered, and was about to speak again but had his thought interrupted by the armed motorist.

"Sorry for the mess. But I'm afraid I can't let you go on."

"Wait a minute! That voice! It can't be!" Jounouchi shouted, though alarms had begun to sound, making it difficult to hear over.

"My leader has some work for me to do, so I'm afraid I can't let you pass. So sorry to disrupt your little plans."

"Your leader?" Yugi whispered, then raised his voice to shout to the man. "Who are you?" He called.

"I am not significant." Two airport security guards took him from behind, startling him. He dropped his weapons and twisted his face to peer over his shoulder. Jounouchi caught a glimpse of his face to recognize him as Hirutani, his old gang leader. More guards had flooded the area and had begun roping off the scene and ushering people out of the building.

"My master will see to it that you will fail!" Hirutani shouted at the top of his lungs, making certain that Yugi heard him as he was leaving. The guards holding him assumed he was referring to a terrorist leader, and slammed the butt of their guns against the back of his head. He slumped over in their arms, unconscious.

* * *

"Pharaoh!" Kaiba shouted inside the hallway connecting the men's mind rooms. He knew he was not connected to his body as usual, but could still swear he felt his blood boiling. After a moment of silence, Kaiba decided to try the pharaoh's room, but when he entered, he felt a tug of the spirit's presence coming from the opposite direction.

He stared back through the hallway at his own door.

_No…_ His eyes narrowed. _In my chamber, without my permission?_

Kaiba turned back and entered his own chamber. The pharaoh sat smugly in the head chair, yet the room remained plain white, not gold as though Kaiba was sitting in the same seat.

"How strange," the pharaoh spoke. "It does not react to my presence. Only to yours."

Kaiba ignored the quandary, glowering at the intruder. "I was under the understanding that you were not to enter here without my voiced permission."

The pharaoh's face fell blank. "I gathered that due to your actions as of late, my intrusion ought to be overlooked. Rightful, even."

"_My_ actions?! What about _your_ actions? I warned you not to try that again! I assure you that I do _not_ make empty threats," Kaiba seethed. "And how many other things are you lying to me about what you can and cannot do with my body?"

"I did not lie to you, Kaiba. When I told you that I could not take over your form again due to your defenses, I was referring to that precise moment. I had fatigued myself by doing so, and with your mental stability at full strength at the time, I would not have had the ability to take over immediately following my first attempt." Kaiba growled.

"Get out. I did not give you permission to be here."

"Why such hostility? You have allowed me here before."

"I don't trust you," he snarled. The spirit of the puzzle removed himself from his seat and met Kaiba in the doorway. He strained his neck to look up into the other's eyes.

"You and I are entwined by fate in these lives we have been living out. Rid your mind of me if you must. But we are not yet finished." Kaiba's face was an unreadable stone, and his intense blue eyes bore into the smaller man's until he had to turn away. He slipped out of the open doorway but remained back to back with his rival.

Kaiba shot the man a glare that could kill, but said nothing in response.

"After all," the pharaoh let a smile grace his lips. "This room has shown me evidence that I am getting inside your head, in ways other than just the obvious." Kaiba's narrowed and flicked up to the plain white door. It was open only a sliver, but it was evident that the pharaoh had seen its contents. Kaiba seethed with rage at the feeling of such intrusion.

He spun on his heel to regard the pharaoh, but he was already gone.

* * *

"Jou, you knew who that guy was?" Honda asked once the four were a safe distance from the airport.

"Yeah. Hirutani. He goes to Rintama High. We used to be buddies in his little gang before I started at Domino High."

"_That_ guy!" Honda threw his fist into his own palm in anger. "He pisses me off."

"What did he want with us?" Anzu asked, barely absorbing much of the situation.

"Dunno. You think he's workin' for Bakura?"

"I'm not sure, but it seems likely." Yugi answered, uncertain. "He made it pretty clear that he didn't want us flying out to see Kaiba."

"Yeah. But now what do we do?" Anzu asked.

"Hey," Jou chipped in. "Rich-boy's the one makin' all these problems! Why don't _he_ fly us out there?"

"Kaiba told me he doesn't have time to see me until he gets back. He's too busy, and probably won't agree to send for us. I still don't know how I'll get him to duel me when we do make it there." _Or how in the world I'm ever going to beat him without Yami's guidance_, he thought to himself.

"Didn't you tell us that Mokuba talked to you recently, Yugi?" Anzu asked. He nodded. "What about asking him for help? Maybe if he thinks his brother is in trouble, he'll let us use their jet or something."

"'Ey, that ain't a bad idea, Anzu. Anyone got the little squirt's number?"

"…I should have it stored on caller ID at home." Yugi sighed. _We can't afford to waste so much time… but what choice do we have?_ Yugi asked himself, a heavy weight resting on his shoulders.

"Let's go, then!" Jounouchi and Honda picked up their bags and started to wave a taxi, but Anzu stopped them.

"Wouldn't it be faster to just call Gramps and have him tell us the number?" She had already begun to dial the number for the Kame Game Shop.

"Good idea, Anzu!" Not two minutes later, she had the number written on a scrap and handed it, and her phone, to Yugi.

"Oh… I-I need to call?" He stuttered slightly.

"Of course. You know how to explain everything to him better than any of us do." Yugi sighed and dialed. A man whose voice Yugi didn't recognize answered the phone, and he asked for Mokuba to be put on the line.

"Yugi? What do you need?" The young boy asked with concern when he came to the phone.

"Uh, it's kind of a long story, but we have a really big favor we need to ask you."

"…'Kay?"

"I need to speak to your brother." Yugi sighed. "In person."

"Sorry Yugi, he's too busy. Even I don't really get to talk to him. There's no way he'd take visitors right now." Yugi felt frustration begin to boil over inside him, and couldn't help it slipping into his reaction.

"Well, this is just a little bit bigger than not finishing the construction of his theme park on time." Mokuba was quiet as he considered this. Given his experience dealing with Yugi and his friends, he couldn't doubt that the words might be true. Yugi decided to elaborate on his explanation.

"We think your brother might be in some danger. We're at the airport now, and-"

"Wait, you're at the airport? Right now?"

"Uh, about a block away, but we _were_ inside trying to board a flight."

"I hope you weren't there when that guy smashed through the window!"

"You heard about that already?" Yugi looked back toward the building and, sure enough, news reporters were already blocking off the street with their vans. "Yeah, we were right in the lobby."

"But you're all ok?" Concern laced Mokuba's voice. "I was watching the news and it just came on as a breaking story."

"We're fine. But the whole airport is shut down now. The man that broke in seemed like he was there to stop us from boarding. I think he works under a man who might be after your brother."

"Wait a minute! Isono said something about a security risk recently. Seto just called him today to make him increase our home and corporate defenses because he thought someone might be trying to threaten him."

"You have to help us get to your brother Mokuba. I don't know what might happen if we don't get there in time." Yugi could hear Mokuba try to swallow his panic.

"Ok. I'll set everything up right away. Tell me where I can send a car to you and then we'll take a jet."

"Mokuba… I don't know if it's a good idea for you to come along."

"Are you kidding me? Whenever my big brother thinks I'm in trouble he's there in a heartbeat. I'm not going to let him down. Even if we are going through some kind of rough patch, I just… I have to be there for him!" Yugi sighed. He didn't have time to argue. Perhaps having Mokuba there could help them get to Kaiba faster. And after all, he _was_ doing them a big favor.

"Ok, Mokuba, I understand." Yugi gave him their location, and it wasn't long after they hung up before a sleek, black limo pulled up to the curb. The dark tinted window of the rear-most seat was rolled down, revealing Mokuba's face.

"Hop in, guys. Let's go!"

* * *

A/N: Hirutani is an early character who never appeared in the 4Kids dub. As I understand it, he was the leader of a gang Jounouchi was a part of in middle school, before he met Yugi. He seemed somewhat formidable to me, yet not so much so that he could not be defeated (or used as a mind puppet by Bakura), so he seemed like a decent toy for my story. Yugi, Honda and Anzu met him once in the manga.

As always, many thanks to everyone reading and supporting this story as well as my creative little habit-turned-addiction, especially to those of you who took the extra time to leave some feedback! (Yami E, I appreciate your encouragement; you flatter me! And... I have no desire to be attacked by your Kuriboh, thank you very much. That explode-on-contact thing would be a bit of a problem for me.)

Hope you guys enjoyed! If I keep up my current pace, it would seem as though I'll wrap up this little adventure in what looks to be roughly three weeks. Almost sad to see it come to an end! But hopefully we'll all have fun getting to that point. Til next time!

~ohmygodagiantrock


	17. Confrontation

A/N: Goodness, I got so busy yesterday I completely forgot to post! Darn rummage sales, holding my attention captive. Good thing for the longer weekend, I get another chance! Sorry for the delay, and I hope everyone's enjoying the extra time off!

Thank you as always for the reviews! To Yami E and anyone else who wondered about the Hirutani character I used, he played a very small part even where he does appear in the manga. He isn't an essential character to canon but he was at one point a pretty big deal to Jounouchi's personal story. I've actually re-read my little tidbit with him in it and, paired with rechecking myself against the manga, I've been at least a little bit inspired to do a short project on Hirutani, and possibly touch on how he could've ended up being Bakura's little flesh puppet. I think it might be fun to break away from the main cast. :)

Now here we go onto chapter seventeen! It's a long one, too.

* * *

Kaiba's anger began to boil inside him, when he heard a low, warning rumble of cracks splitting behind him. In an attempt to quell his rage, he decided not to go after the pharaoh. _For all the good it would do anyway,_ he thought. _All I really want to do is throw my fist at him, but I can't even touch him here._

His attention having been drawn to his dwelling place, he turned to investigate it. This would also give him a small window of time to collect himself, and cool down a little - though not _too_ much. He still had a plan of retribution to carry out when he returned to his consciousness.

He gravitated toward Mokuba's picture frame on the low table. As usual, his light shone the way and illuminated his surroundings. But when he picked up the painting to examine it, a deep gasp escaped his lips.

A large split had formed on the canvas, across Mokuba's cheek. It reached from his cheekbone and just brushed across the bridge of his nose, and was much wider than the other small paint cracks. The wind slipped out of Kaiba's sails, and he slumped into the nearest chair. How had he taken such a step backward? He hadn't even spoken to Mokuba, so they couldn't have had another fight! He hadn't…

…_I haven't spoken to Mokuba. Could that be the _problem_?_ His slender fingers squeezed the picture frame tightly before returning it to the table. _Somehow I doubt sitting down in a damned chair is going to help fix this any further._ Now more on guard for other changes, he moved to stand and observe the enormous fissure on the walls and floor. But as he lifted himself from his seat his vision glossed over the floor beneath his feet, and saw that the extensive cracks had stretched all the way across the floor to where he stood. He followed the trail of cracks with his eyes, which widened when they rested upon the source of the fissure. The deepest part of the crack, on the wall, had widened enough to make the CEO wonder how the wall hadn't begun to crumble down yet. He closed his eyes and sighed deeply.

When he opened his eyes again, a dim beam of light caught the corner of his eye and he turned to the white door, which still stood open the smallest crack.

_There was no light in this room the first time I saw it,_ Kaiba thought. He peered inside to investigate, and once more he gasped. The room was brightly lit, the fog completely banished, and he could clearly see that the walls were covered in Egyptian hieroglyphs. He ignored the images, though he did spot on the opposite wall from where he stood in the doorway ancient text in a language identical to that which he found on the Winged Dragon of Ra card. Kaiba couldn't help but notice the absurdity that, though unfamiliar with the origin of the text, he could still read it clear as day. "_Entwined by fate_", read the passage painted on the wall, above the small table he'd already seen.

_So this is where he got that line._ While Kaiba did not agree with the concept of fate, he could not deny he felt compelled to believe that he and the spirit of the puzzle were tied together somehow, even if it was only through his own will.

There was nothing else in the room but the hieroglyphs he could not read, nor did he care to. Kaiba stepped forward to the small table once again, and pulled open the small velvet-lined drawer, finding nothing new along with the little golden necklace. Kaiba returned to his main chamber, leaving the door to the smaller room open, and examined the blemish in the structure once more.

His fingers brushed against the scarred surface, and a light tremor passed through his hand from the wall. He felt it travel up his entire arm and it sent a shiver down his neck before it dissipated. He reached his other strong hand up to massage the flesh beneath the neck of his soft black sweater. His fingertips were used to the difference in texture between his porcelain-smooth skin and the rough scar tissue left behind by Gozaburo's ministrations when he was a child. But that didn't mean its presence on his person didn't bother him, even still. The marks left on his skin were proof of what the man had once put him through.

"I have defeated you three times, stepfather." Kaiba closed his eyes as he recalled each account - their first chess match, his success in taking over KaibaCorp, and their Duel Monsters game in Noah's virtual world. "I will not let you continue to have this hold over me." He could feel his determination return to him all at once.

* * *

"I'm terribly sorry for the delay, master Mokuba," the head of the KaibaCorp flight crew apologized. "With mister Kaiba away, we were not expecting to need use of the jets, so we're in the middle of performing a maintenance check on all of the aircraft. We ought to be able to get one up and running this afternoon still, but it may be a few hours before she's ready to fly." Mokuba groaned with impatience.

"Isn't there something else we can take?" Honda asked Mokuba once the maintenance man had departed from the group.

"We have more than one jet, but the team is conducting tests on all of them at once. Then there's the fleet of helicopters, but even if they're ready to go right now, they're way too slow. Anything else we have won't be big enough to fit all of us. The Blue Eyes jet should be ready to fly, and it's faster, but it's only big enough for two people. …Normally when we use it, it's just me and Seto, but I don't know how to fly it myself so we would still need a pilot."

"So only one person would be able to go, then?" Yugi asked.

"Yeah."

"Well," Honda chimed in, "Really, Yugi's the only one who actually needs to go…"

"Hey, just what do you think you're suggestin'?" Jou put up a fist to his friend. "If you wanna let Yug' fight this battle all on his own, without even the pharaoh, you can stay, but I'm not letting' my buddy leave all by himself like that!"

"I'm not staying behind either," Mokuba added. "Seto's my brother, and if he's in some kind of danger, I won't let him go through it alone!"

"No one's saying Yugi should go all by himself, guys," Anzu pointed out, trying to calm the group. "Honda's just trying to think logically."

"It seems like the only thing we can really do is wait," Yugi finally spoke.

* * *

Ishizu had watched the sun rise and set as her small family airplane journeyed through the day and the night. Now that it had landed, she stepped out of the aircraft and onto American soil as her surroundings became bathed in a soft pink glow from the early morning sky. Rishid had accompanied his adoptive sister during her flight, but had agreed to her request asking him to remain near the landing site and leave her to deal with Kaiba alone. She entered the vehicle waiting to take her to Hotel Kaiba, and surpassed the security leading to the top floor. It may have been true that she no longer had possession of her millennium necklace to show her visions, but she could still do her homework, and knew exactly where the CEO would be staying. She knocked pointedly on the door to his suite, and a brunet in a black suit with brown facial hair and sunglasses opened the door.

"May I ask your name?" He inquired.

"Ishizu Ishtar. I am here to see Seto Kaiba on official business."

* * *

Kaiba flickered bleary eyes and hoisted himself off the sofa; comfortable enough for sitting on for a short while, but he had no desire to ever find himself sleeping on it again. He fought against instinctually balling his fists with the frustration simmering in him, thinking of how carelessly the pharaoh was treating his 'host'. He settled for adjusting his back and neck before rising. He sought out his briefcase decisively, finding it stowed not far from where he had taken his involuntary nap. He flipped it open and pulled out the oversized golden pendant.

"_Pharaoh_," Kaiba called out using his mind, as the spirit was not in plain sight. "_I hope you're paying attention."_

Kaiba was interrupted briefly by a knock on the door to his suite, but was too absorbed in his task at hand to let himself be bothered by it. He searched out a hard surface suitable for his intentions. When one had been found - deciding simply on the wall behind him - he began to let the temptation of being rid of the pharaoh overwhelm him once again.

"_Kaiba! What are you doing?"_

"_You've pushed me too far this time!"_ Kaiba bent his arm back and prepared to smash the puzzle in his hand against the wall in front of him.

When the door was answered and his visitor spoke, however, his attention was drawn by the sound of her voice. He opened his ears and listened in, while still roughly gripping the puzzle in his straining fingers.

"May I ask your name?" Fuguta, Kaiba's assistant posing as a temporary butler, inquired immediately.

"Ishizu Ishtar. I am here to see Seto Kaiba on official business."

"Mr. Kaiba is not seeing any visitors at the moment."

"What is it now, Fuguta?" Kaiba called, agitation seeping into his voice.

"A woman by the name of Ishizu Ishtar, to see you for business."

"Send her away. I have no need for her _counsel_." Kaiba mocked, knowing very well his visitor could hear him clearly.

"And what if I told you," Ishizu called so that Kaiba may hear, "that your actions, as you have already been warned, are now affecting your brother? I have a little brother of my own, Kaiba. I know how it must feel to you, to want to protect him."

Kaiba growled and dropped the puzzle, leaving it on the floor wherever it had fallen. He appeared at the doorway and gestured for his employee to stand aside, though he did not appear to be in a caring mood. His eyes were icy and menacing.

"I've had about enough of you people trying to make threats on my little brother's life. Are you under the impression that I'm supposed to be afraid of you?"

"I do not expect that you are."

"I have top-notch security personnel guarding my brother at all times, and high-tech alarm systems set up, in both my home and office building, to alert those guards on the nearly impossible chance that someone _were_ to slip past the defenses I've set up."

"That's very impressive. However, I can promise you that the damage inflicted to your brother will not be physical."

"So we're back to threats. Do I need to start making a few of my own?" Kaiba asked, tone dark. His employee, still visible in the background, slipped a hand under his jacket to rest on the butt of his pistol. The action, clearly more for show than anything, did not faze the Egyptian woman.

"No, Kaiba. As usual, you do not understand. But I suspected you might be difficult, so I have come, not to make a threat, but to offer a challenge."

"A challenge?"

"As I have discovered since our first meeting, you are difficult to sway. But I can be very persuasive myself." Kaiba showed no interest in this prospect, and didn't respond.

"I wish to duel you."

"I haven't the time to waste on you fools."

"Oh, it will not take terribly long."

"Either you're far too overconfident, or you have no hope to win. Considering I've defeated you before and was presented with little challenge, I presume it would be the latter."

"If that is how you would like to interpret…"

"What would be the point of dueling you?"

"To you? To play a game. Do you need more incentive than to prove your worth, former champion?" _To me? To once more open your mind to the truth. _"If it would help convince you, then if you win I shall agree to leave you to your business. Furthermore, I will cease to aide Yugi in regaining the millennium puzzle."

"Hmph." Kaiba glanced over his shoulder to give his suite a once-over glance. "I will agree to this duel, but I have a better location in mind."

"Very well."

* * *

Yugi Mutou was one of only two still awake on what remained of the KaibaCorp jet's late evening flight. Mokuba Kaiba was the other, although one could guess he'd been asleep for how silent and still he'd been since the others had begun drifting off. His head was drooped over a textbook and notebook, apparently attempting to ensure he didn't miss any studying due to the excursion. Yugi did notice, however, through the boy's wavy bangs, that his eyes _were_ open, though not at all focused on his reading material. He opted to start a discussion.

"Mokuba?" Yugi pulled the young boy from his apparent worries.

"Hmm? Yeah, Yugi?"

"I was wondering something." Mokuba looked on expectantly. "Did your brother tell you exactly what happened after our last duel?"

"Actually, he was pretty vague about what happened after I went home. He said it had to do with Egypt but that's pretty much it."

"So he hasn't shown you the puzzle since then?"

"What puzzle?" Mokuba gave Yugi a confused expression, but his eyes drifted to Yugi's midsection where he finally noticed he hadn't been wearing the golden pyramid he was so accustomed to seeing around his neck. Yugi seemed to notice his gaze. "Y-Yugi, what happened?"

"Kai- er, your brother… won my millennium puzzle."

"But I didn't think that was part of the deal when you guys dueled."

"It wasn't. Or, I guess it was, but no one understood that until it was too late."

"I don't think I understand."

Yugi once again went through the story of what had happened to the pharaoh, and continued on to bring the boy up to speed with their current mission, where Bakura was concerned. Mokuba, bearing his brother's skepticism, was slow to catch on, but worry began to knit his features as the tale bore on.

* * *

Kaiba allowed Ishizu to accompany him further into KaibaLand's construction site, on which his hotel was located. The two found themselves inside the skeleton frame of a very large, though barely constructed, dome-shaped building. Inside this rough structure, Ishizu was surprised to find a solid vision dueling arena. It appeared to be in perfect working order, despite the unfinished state of nearly everything else around them. They had arrived early enough in the morning that the site was all but abandoned by the construction crew.

"I trust that you'll pardon our surroundings. If not for the incessant interruptions I've received this month, this park would be further along in its progress."

"So long as they are not unsafe, our surroundings do not concern me, Kaiba."

"It's safe," The CEO muttered and navigated around the arena over power cords and abandoned tools to flip a large lever on a metal box, giving power to the arena. It may have been early in the morning, but Kaiba had been wide awake and already clad in his usual black dress and white trench, steel briefcase in hand. Flood lights set up by the construction crew flashed on and the arena sprang to life. Kaiba and Ishizu both stepped onto their respective platforms to begin the duel.

"_Kaiba?"_ came the voice inside his head, who had been sure to make an appearance.

"_Just to be clear, to say that I am not entirely pleased with you would be a dangerous understatement. What do you want?"_

"_Never mind that now. Why are you dueling Ishizu?"_

"_That's my concern. Not yours."_

"Your move, Ishizu," he called out, and she nodded. "Duel," Kaiba commanded under his breath. Ishizu drew a card and summoned her monster Keldo (1200atk/1600def) in attack mode.

"Off to a weak start, it seems." He countered with Battle Ox (1700atk/1000def), easily destroying her monster and a small slice of her life points. "If you aren't even going to try, this won't be much of a challenge." He slid two cards face down.

Ishizu ignored the remark and played her Graceful Charity card, drawing three extra cards and placed two cards from her hand into her graveyard. She placed one card face down and moved one monster card to the field face down and gestured for Kaiba to make his move.

"_Kaiba… do not underestimate Ishizu. She may not have the ability to predict the future any longer, but that does not mean she isn't formidable."_

"_Can it, will you? I don't need your help. I didn't bring you along to talk in my ear."_

"_Then why did you?"_ Kaiba didn't answer immediately, but attacked once more with his Battle Ox, sending Ishizu's second monster to the graveyard.

"_Because when this duel is over, I'm handing that damn puzzle over to her."_

"_But you can't do that, Kaiba! There are rules to this! Someone has to win it from you. And I find it hard to believe you're going to throw a game to-"_

"To hell with the rules! Do you think I care at this point? I want you out of my head, one way or another."

"_Kaiba…"_

"_I'm not interested in a thing you might have to say to me right now."_

He summoned Des Feral Imp (1600atk/1800def) in attack position, but ended his turn. Ishizu looked up at him with an indiscernible glint in her eyes. She played Pot of Greed, drawing from her deck again.

"_She must be searching for something,"_ the pharaoh commented.

She finished by summoning a monster onto the field, Kelbek (1500atk/1800def), and ended her turn again.

"Ha! You're making this too easy!"

"_Don't let yourself forget about her face down card."_

"_Enough! I didn't ask for your coaching. Maybe you're used to Yugi needing your help, but I'm _not_ him."_ The pharaoh only responded by sighing.

"I sacrifice my Battle Ox and my Feral Imp to bring my Blue Eyes White Dragon to the field!" A brilliant show of glittering lights set the stage for the magnificent dragon to make its appearance. "Blue Eyes, attack Ishizu's monster!"

"Stop! I activate Sacrifice's Blast! You would not have known this, Kaiba, but I had attempted to use this card on you before, when you had intended to attack me with Obelisk in our last duel."

"What is that?"

"Sacrifice's Blast forces me to choose a monster card on the field, and an explosive device is planted within that creature. Once that monster is used as a tribute, the monster summoned in its place inherits this device, and will destroy itself upon being called to attack, taking away one thousand of its owner's life points! The monster I initially chose was your Battle Ox."

"Which means my Blue Eyes is infected by your card!"

"Precisely. And you just called an attack."

"_Dammit! That card…"_

Kaiba's Blue Eyes White Dragon shattered in an explosion of clean white light, and his life point counter dropped down to three thousand. Kaiba wanted to close his eyes to shield them from the white light, but before he could do so, he noticed a yellow-tinted illumination flooding the arena in thin beams.

"_Where's _that_ coming from? It isn't the sun."_ Kaiba asked, noting the strictly pink hue coming from the open sky overhead. The question was not aimed directly at a target, but the pharaoh answered anyway.

"_Kaiba, I believe that yellow light… is emanating from your briefcase. I think it's the millennium puzzle!"_

"_But why?"_ The pharaoh had wanted to answer, but Kaiba took hold of his attention, posing an alarmed stance. He took a staggered step backward, and his blue eyes grew wide, staring into the distance.

"N-no… It can't be!" Kaiba shouted. His vision had clouded and his scenery morphed into that of an office, which he found eerily familiar.

"Kaiba?" Ishizu called from across the arena, but her voice became distant. "Kaiba! What is-?" He didn't hear the end of her question.

"_Kaiba, what's going on?"_

"_That's what I'd like to know!"_

"_You are seeing what I am, then?" _Kaiba didn't answer immediately, but pulled himself together to face his new situation. A man sat at the desk. This desk had a set of cards on it, arranged as though someone were in the middle of a game.

Kaiba quickly realized that someone was him. And he was playing against the man who was sitting in the large leather office chair behind the desk.

"_Kaiba, isn't that man…?"_ The pharaoh paused in his question, unsure.

Kaiba narrowed his eyes and spat, "Gozaburo Kaiba."

* * *

A/N: I guess I changed my mind, guys. I wanted to include a duel after all, so I could have fun with how Kaiba might manage dueling in his new… "condition", and I thought you guys might enjoy that. There wasn't more than a taste here, but more will come in the next chapter. And once I started trying to figure out where to work it in, I realized it could be a perfect way to get Kaiba to deal with some of his issues. After all, the guy lives and breathes Duel Monsters. Why shouldn't he use it as a method of working through his problems?


	18. The Cards Are Stacked

A/N: Hey there everyone! Thanks for coming! :) I wanted to thank Yami E for the suggestion that I more clearly display life points and monster position. I hadn't thought of that, and I appreciate the suggestion. I like being able to know what makes my writing more enjoyable to my readers. Thank you also to anyone else who reviewed, and the follows/favorites as well. Always appreciated.

* * *

Bakura picked up his ringing cell phone, grimaced, and answered.

"I… apologize, master. I was apprehended during the mission you sent me on," Hirutani explained with remorse in his voice.

"I expected that to happen. Did you accomplish your objective, at least?" Bakura's tone was icy, knowing.

"A-as far as I can tell…"

"You foolish imbecile! You did _not_ succeed! Your target has already boarded another aircraft! And now you're incapacitated; you cannot even fix your mistake. You're of no more use to me."

"D-does that mean our contract is… terminated?"

The spirit of the ring chuckled with amusement. "Don't sound so optimistic. It will not get you far with me." He clicked his phone shut, hanging up on the incarcerated man. "It would seem I need to take matters into my own hands," he said aloud to himself.

* * *

"Sit down, son. We're in the middle of a lesson. Since you're so fond of games, I thought I could use one of your favorites to teach you a lesson in tactics."

"Hmph. From _you,_ learning tactics would be as useful as learning manners from an ape."

"Hold your tongue, Seto!" The old man commanded, then flashed a threatening smirk. "Or Hopson, here, will have to hold it _for_ you. And we wouldn't want that, would we? It's your move."

"Hmph," Kaiba said again. "I was never afraid of that old toad." Kaiba spoke with a defiant tone, but sat down in the padded wooden chair anyway. He examined the cards in front of him, and gasped.

"_This is the same exact game I was just playing with Ishizu!"_

"_So it is. What do you think all of this means?"_

"_I don't know, but this has to be some sort of trick! Virtual reality, I presume."_

"_I'm not so sure, Kaiba. True that it _has_ happened before, but think about where you just were. Standing upon your own property, undeveloped land, even! How likely do you think it would be to somehow find yourself in a virtual reality pod again?"_

"_This could be the result of foul play. It wouldn't be the first time my employees have turned traitorous. I don't doubt that I've been set up. But regardless of how I got here, it appears I'm in the middle of a game. And I won't miss out on an opportunity to crush this old fool."_

"_Very well. Just be careful. We don't know much about this situation."_

"Make your move already, Seto! You've been concentrating long enough."

"Fine. I accept my thousand points of damage and remove my Blue Eyes from the field. But it will not be the last you see of it." Gozaburo placed a card face down and summoned another monster in face down defense position, then passed his turn onto his adoptive son.

(Gozaburo/3500 LP, Kaiba/3000 LP)

Though it was difficult to see his stepfather's face with the sunlight from the window directly in front of him casting a shadow across the man's features, he still tried his best to study them.

"_He still hasn't aged a day since he was last seen alive. In fact, I might even say he looks younger. Whatever this place is, I wonder _when_ it's assumed to have happened."_

"_At least _you_ don't look any younger."_ The double doors behind him suddenly creaked open, revealing Gozaburo's employee Leichter, gripping the wrist of a struggling Mokuba Kaiba.

"Ah!" Kaiba exclaimed aloud. _"But _he_ does! What is going on here?"_ Mokuba appeared to be several years younger than present day, as though the events unfolding were happening before Kaiba had ever taken hold of his stepfather's company.

"Mokuba! What is he doing here? Let him go, Leichter!"

"Indeed, what _is_ the boy doing here?" Gozaburo asked with impatience.

"Sir, if you will pardon the interruption, it would seem that master Mokuba has been caught sneaking toys into his brother's room."

"And? My elder son and I are having a private lesson. I don't want him to be distracted by that brat."

"_What_ did you just call him? Do not _ever_ insult my brother again, or I'll-" Kaiba was seething, but Gozaburo cut him off.

"Or you'll _what_, Seto? You're nothing but a child! What do you honestly think you can do to me?" Kaiba glared.

"_A child? Kaiba, maybe you don't appear to be any younger to me, but from the sound of it, the other people here seem to have some reason to think you are."_

"_Hm."_

"Leichter!"

"Yes, sir."

"It would seem that this matter may be timely after all. Sit the boy down over there," he waved to a corner with an unobstructed view of the desktop, "and don't allow him to get up. He can sit there and watch me break his brother down. Perhaps this will set an example to the two of them, that I am their father and they are to obey me!"

"You are _not_ our father," young Mokuba said under his breath. Leichter looked up at his boss, who gave a curt nod, and Leichter lashed the boy across the cheek with the palm of his hand. Mokuba let out a yelp and tears began to form in the pit of his eyes, but he squeezed his eyelids shut so they couldn't fall.

"Don't you dare lay a hand on him, you snake!" Kaiba shouted at the worker, but his head snapped back to face his stepfather. "What is the point of all this?"

"I already told you once, but clearly you haven't been paying attention. Now, make your move already! I've waited long enough!" Kaiba stole a glance back at his baby brother, but had to look away again as he noticed a red tint growing on the child's cheek.

"_This doesn't make any sense! Mokuba looks like he couldn't be older than nine. That would put me at only fourteen, two years before I took over KaibaCorp. But I'm playing with the deck I use today! I didn't have these cards back then!"_

"_That is rather interesting."_

Kaiba's frustration grew. Without looking at the spirit, he spoke through his mind in deadly tone. _"If I find out that you and your little friends are behind this, and Mokuba really _is_ involved, there won't be enough mercy on Earth to save you from __what I'll do to you. Do you hear me?"_

"_Kaiba, I promise you, I am not the one behind any of this. Please, do not allow your anger to get the best of you. Play your game, defeat your stepfather. Then we can get to the bottom of this and find out if Mokuba's truly safe."_

"_He'd better be."_ Kaiba turned his attention back to his cards. "I play X-Head Cannon (1800atk/1500def) in attack mode, and attack your face down monster." He gestured to the second monster that had been set down. Gozaburo laughed, revealing the effect monster, Kelbek.

"Your little weapon goes back to your hand, kid."

"But you still lose life points, old man. You're down to thirty two hundred."

"Nothing to worry about. I'll tribute my remaining face down monster to summon Gyakutenno Megami (1800atk/2000def) in attack position."

"Why would you waste a tribute summoning such a weak six star monster?" Kaiba questioned.

"All in good reason, my boy. The monster I sacrificed was Zolga. You know this game quite well, so I assume you know what its effect is."

"_He gains an enormous amount of life points just by using that card as a sacrifice,"_ the pharaoh answered.

"_I know. Two thousand of them,"_ Kaiba said to the spirit."Yes, I know what it does. Let's move on."

"Very well. I'll take my two thousand points and end my turn. Back to you, Seto."

(Gozaburo/5200 LP, Kaiba/3000 LP)

"I summon Vorse Raider to attack Gyakutenno Megami, costing you one hundred of those life points you just gained, and leaving you with no other monsters. Not a well thought out strategy, stepfather."

"You only say that because you can't _see_ my whole strategy! Remember what I taught you, son. Never underestimate your opponents! I summon Mudora (1500atk/1800def) from my hand, and because of how many fairy monsters you've already sent to the graveyard, my monster gains a great power-up: two hundred attack points for each creature, and I count five!" (Mudora 2500atk/1800def)

"_No! Kaiba, he just called a level four monster to the field, and now it has two thousand five hundred attack points!"_

"_I can see that, you idiot. I can still handle this just fine, thank you."_ Kaiba accepted the six hundred points of damage he incurred when Mudora destroyed his Vorse Raider. However, Kaiba did cringe slightly when he noted the difference in his life points from those of his stepfather. Disregarding the thought, he played his face down card, Monster Reborn, and brought his Blue Eyes White Dragon back to the field.

(Gozaburo/5100 LP, Kaiba/2400 LP)

"I told you it wouldn't be the last you'd see of my beast. Blue Eyes, attack Mudora!"

"Not so fast. Negate Attack!"

"Very well," Kaiba growled, speaking sourly. "I end my turn."

"My move. First, I'll play Swords of Revealing Light, freezing your dragon from attacking for three turns."

"_Damn,"_ the pharaoh cursed. Kaiba might have joined the spirit, had he been given the time to. But Gozaburo continued his move before he could think.

"Next I summon Dancing Fairy in defense mode (1000def). With this card, so long as it remains in face up defense position on my side of the field, I gain one thousand extra life points per turn."

"_That strategy sounds familiar,"_ Kaiba growled.

"_Yes. This is the same way that Noah dueled against you in his virtual world, constantly raising his life points. Like father, like son, I suppose."_

Kaiba narrowed his eyes at the spirit. _"Don't say that about him,"_ he warned._ "I'm his son as well, you know."_ The pharaoh studied his host's face, finding it odd he would say such a thing in full seriousness, given his attitude about his adoptive family. Kaiba noticed and amended his statement. "_…By some stretch of the imagination, I suppose."_

"_I was not thinking that way, Kaiba. Your dueling strategy is quite detached from the way your father plays."_

"_And that's the way I prefer it. He may have a bit of a head start now, but against _my_ strategy, in the end he's going to lose."_

"_Let us hope."_

"_Who needs to rely on hope when one has skill?"_ Kaiba smirked and drew a card, beginning his next turn. Gozaburo took his first thousand life points from Dancing Fairy, bringing him up to 6100.

(Gozaburo/6100 LP, Kaiba/2400 LP)

* * *

The KaibaCorp jet landed at the airport just as the colorful glow of the sunrise had begun to fade. Yugi, eager and hopeful, was the first to head off of the aircraft, his friends close behind him. The group was met outside by a familiar limousine instructed to drive the five of them to KaibaLand property, where they hoped to meet a cooperative Seto Kaiba.

They arrived promptly, but the rough terrain of the construction site was too much for the fancy car to handle and dropped them off outside the entrance to the park.

"Great," Jounouchi groaned. "This place is huge. Where are we gonna find Kaiba here?"

"We could always try calling him," Anzu suggested. "I'm guessing you have his cell phone number, right Mokuba?"

"Uh, I don't think that's a good idea," Mokuba frowned. "I'm really not supposed to be here, and I'd rather not warn him that I'm coming to find him. Let's just start by trying his hotel room first."

"'Kay, where's that?" Jou questioned. Mokuba rolled his eyes.

"It's the giant building straight ahead - the one that's fully constructed."

"Hey," Honda pitched in, "do we really have time to play hide-and-seek with Moneybags? Maybe we should split up instead. We'll cover more ground that way."

"Good idea," Mokuba agreed. "I'll take the hotel since I know where his room is, and you guys should cover the rest of the park. Anzu, I have your number since you called me earlier, so I'll let you know if I find him. We can meet up in the center of the park in…" Mokuba paused to check the time. "One hour. Sound okay?" Everyone nodded in agreement and went their separate ways.

* * *

A/N: So, in case anyone's a little confused about the dude grabbing poor little Mokuba, he's Gozaburo's assistant, and part of the Big Five. (He's the one who duels against Kaiba as Jinzo.) I've also seen his name spelled 'Lector', and I do believe his name in the Japanese version is Kogoro Daimon. I just felt more comfortable using Leichter. Sorry if anyone was confused about this, since I've made an effort to stick mostly to the Japanese names.


	19. Erroneous Strategy

A/N: Good evening (or whatever's applicable) everyone! This chapter further extends the duel I hadn't originally planned to write. A little note about that at the end of the chapter.

I hope this duel is easy enough to follow. I filled in some life point trackers as suggested, and caught myself skipping the atk/def stats in places, but I do hope the numbers aren't too much of a distraction. Please do let me know if this is difficult to follow for whatever reason. Or if it's not.

* * *

Mokuba rounded the corner inside the hotel building and approached the door to his brother's suite. His feet immediately skid silently to a halt on the thin carpeted floor when he noticed that the entrance was ajar, and his breath caught in his throat. He stepped cautiously forward and peeked through the crack in the door. He didn't see any immediate signs of forced entry, but he also knew it was not like his brother to leave himself exposed this way.

Very slowly, Mokuba pushed the door open with one hand and ducked back behind the wall again. He heard no movement, however, and deemed it safe enough to investigate. Stepping inside the suite quickly changed his mind, though, as soon as he laid eyes on the dark-suited man unconscious on the floor. His signature sunglasses lay on the ground next to his face, with one lens popped out of the frame and broken. His mind screamed at him to get out, but before Mokuba moved a muscle he felt a hand clamp onto his shoulder.

The boy closed his eyes and swallowed hard. _If that were Seto, he would've spoken. He wouldn't leave me guessing,_ Mokuba told himself. He tried to force down the panic rising inside him.

"Well, what do we have here? I believe I may have just found what I was looking for." The man with the British accent smirked mischievously. Mokuba opened his eyes again and turned to look at the speaker's face.

"What do you want with me?"

Bakura chuckled. "Oh, little one. It's not you I want anything from. But it _is_ you who's going to _get me_ what I want." Mokuba clenched his fists, and his eyes darted around to search for an escape. He'd been here before, and had never wanted to return. Escaping was first on his agenda.

* * *

"I summon Kotodama in defense mode (1600def), and I equip it with the magic card Horn of Light. This increases its defense points by eight hundred, bringing it up to twenty four hundred. Not that you can attack it anyway," he chuckled coldly. "Furthermore, the effect of my monster means that you cannot own more than one creature of a certain name face up at any time, so long as my monster remains."

"No!" Kaiba called.

"Oh, I'm afraid so, son. You know exactly what _that_ means!"

"_That means I can't summon my Blue Eyes Ultimate Dragon!"_

"_Then you'll have to find some other way to beat him, Kaiba."_

Gozaburo's life points rose another thousand, and Kaiba made his move. Unfortunately, all the brunet could do was lay a face down card and end his turn again.

(Gozaburo/7100 LP, Kaiba/2400 LP)

"Make your move, stepfather."

"Very well, I shall. First I'll play Tribute Doll. In case you aren't aware, this lets me sacrifice one of my monsters to summon any level seven creature from my hand."

"_Kaiba, this could be bad…"_ The pharaoh warned.

"I'll use this card to do away with my Dancing Fairy."

"_Maybe not. I really wasn't looking forward to watching his life points get even higher next turn."_

"In its place, I summon the seven star monster, Wing weaver (2750atk/2400def)!" He called the powerful fairy to the field. Kaiba stared at the creature, blinking, then burst out in a fit of violent laughter.

"Are you kidding me, old man?! That glittery little pixie is your grand monster? A little frilly for your tastes, isn't it?" Kaiba mocked.

"_...I guess he must really be using Ishizu's deck in this vision, if that's what this is."_

"_That's the only excuse I could imagine for my stepfather using such a... _feminine _card."_

"_Do not discount its power, Kaiba. Yes, Wingweaver _is _another fairy, but she also happens to be among the strongest."_

"_Whatever. All it would take to defeat that thing is one blast from my Blue Eyes."_

"Laugh all you want, son, but this creature has more than enough power to annihilate you."

"Yeah right. Make your big finish, then. I'd love to see that happen," Kaiba taunted.

"Watch what you say, kid. I'll make you eat those words. Next I'll activate Malevolent Nuzzler and equip it to my Wingweaver, increasing its attack power by seven hundred. That's a total of 3450, in case you weren't keeping up."

"That's _something to worry about now. And with his Kotdama on the field, you have no chance of getting your Ultimate Dragon into play."_

"_I'll figure something out."_

"Lucky for you, this monster cannot attack until next turn, because I used Tribute Doll to summon it. Last, I'll play Spell Reproduction to return one spell card from my graveyard back to my hand, ending my turn."

"Ha! You shouldn't have done that, Gozaburo. Your last move activated the card I played in my previous turn, Thirst for Compensation!"

"Some good that's going to do you," Gozaburo mocked.

"Oh, it will. I'll use it to play my X-Head Cannon (1800atk/1500def) and my Z-Metal Tank (1500atk/1300 def) from my hand."

"But now those creatures can't change their positions, nor can you sacrifice them. The only good they'll do you is defense. You're just biding your time now, son. Stop putting off the inevitable and admit that you're going to lose to me!"

"I won't," Kaiba said defiantly. "Perhaps my creatures can't be used as a tribute, but there's nothing on this spell card that forbids me from fusing them. When I turn over my face down monster, Y-Dragon Head, I have all three pieces needed to create XYZ Dragon Cannon (2800atk/2600def)!"

"Big deal. Even if your monster could attack, it's still much weaker than mine."

"For now. But this particular monster has an ability that allows me to destroy one card on your side of the field, so long as I discard from my hand."

"What?! No!" Gozaburo wailed. "And you're going to use it on my monster, aren't you?"

"Not quite, you fool."

"_You're not?"_ The pharaoh questioned.

"I intend to use it on your equip card instead, weakening your monster, bringing it back down to its original 2750."

"What? Why would you do that? Explain yourself, boy!"

"Why would I spell out my strategy to you? So you can counter? Not a chance. Since I can't attack yet, I end my turn."

"Fine. There is nothing I can do. I pass."

"And now that the effect of your Swords of Revealing Light is gone, my Blue Eyes can attack your Wingweaver! You lose 250 life points. Not as much as I need to take you down, but it's a start. For all that buildup, your little fairy didn't last too long," Kaiba taunted. "Next I'll have my Dragon Cannon destroy your Kotodama. Since it was in defense mode, you won't lose any more life points, but your side of the field has been wiped clean of all monsters."

(Gozaburo/6850 LP, Kaiba/2400 LP)

"_An excellent move, Kaiba! This may be your turnaround!"_

"_I wouldn't be too hasty in celebrating. My stepfather often has a few cards up his sleeve for occasions such as this. I've learned never to let my guard down around him."_

"_A wise decision, it would seem."_

"_Hm. In any case, now that his Kotodama monster is gone, I get to bring about my Blue Eyes Ultimate Dragon, as soon as I draw the remaining cards. With one Blue Eyes on the field and another in my hand already, that shouldn't be too difficult."_

"Well, well. Now that you've cleared the field of all of my monsters, you've given me the liberty to play _this_." The man placed a Dark Hole card down on his side of the field, and Kaiba's eyes went wide. Gozaburo laughed out loud.

"_No… Kaiba."_ The pharaoh watched his host as he began losing grasp of his hope, just as things were looking up.

"You seem a little… _unnerved_, my boy! Did I spoil your plan? For shame. Haven't I been teaching you well enough not to subject yourself to your enemies by clinging to only one set of strategies?"

Kaiba clenched his cards in his fists and growled. _"But I _have_ to destroy you. You deserve it! You put me through such hell… I have to destroy you… and I have to make it big! I have to make it count."_ Kaiba tried to bite back his frustration as he fell further behind in the game. He spoke in a low tone, showing his steel determination. "I have to overcome you, once and for all."

"I'm too powerful for you to _overcome_, you pathetic child!" Kaiba struggled not to believe him. "I play one monster in defense mode, and another card face down. Do your worst, kid, but don't fall into believing you'll be capable of even _touching_ me!" More laughter spilled out of the old man.

"Shut up. I will defeat you."

* * *

"Kaiba!" Yugi, panting, ran up to the arena along with Jou and Anzu. But as he got closer and saw the glazed over look to his rival's eyes, he became confused.

"Ishizu," Yugi called to the Egyptian woman, "What happened to Kaiba?"

"Yugi. I am glad to see you have made it here safely. Kaiba is having a vision that I believe was brought on by your millennium puzzle. He is as aware that he is dueling as he was when this game began, but something during our game seems to have triggered a memory or a sensation for him, and now he seems to think he is playing this exact duel against his own stepfather."

"Gozaburo?" Anzu questioned. "But why? What does he have to do with all of this?"

"I do not fully understand that myself, but I am certain that Kaiba knows the connection, and by extension, so should the pharaoh." The group turned their attention to the game at hand. Even though Kaiba outwardly appeared to be in his own little world, they were able enough to follow the play.

"I play one monster card face down, but there's nothing else I can do. I end my turn."

"Very good," Ishizu called from across the arena. She was not aware of what Kaiba was seeing or hearing while they played their game, but she knew that one way or another, she was a character in the scenes he was seeing, and she had to keep playing out their duel. He was clearly responsive to her only to the degree that he knew what cards she was playing and how to counter, but the conversation the two duelists were having were completely individual from each other. He did not seem to know, or even hear, what she was saying, and she did not understand what he meant by the words he spoke. It felt to her as though she had intruded upon a telephone conversation in which she could only hear one side. She assumed the others who had now joined her felt the same.

* * *

Mokuba hissed in pain when Bakura tightened the ties that bound his wrists behind the boy's back. He had woven the boy's hands through the back of a decorative chair in the Kaiba suite. The contents of his pockets, including Mokuba's cell phone, a pager, and a few ID cards, far out of his reach.

"I don't care much for complainers," he bent down and whispered maliciously into his ear. "So, would you care to tell me where your brother is?"

"I don't know where he is. I went to his suite to look for him," Mokuba said honestly.

"I can tell you that I know him to be within the boundaries of this property."

"If you know where he is, why do you even need me?"

"Oh, dear child, you have your purpose. You see, I've decided that you will work splendidly as a bargaining chip." Mokuba shuddered. He understood how these things worked. He knew what was meant by that. As always, he wished he didn't.

"Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a message to deliver to _brother dearest_."

"Just try it. He'll crush you." Mokuba dared. Bakura responded by laughing.

"Behave yourself while I'm gone. I won't be long." Mokuba glared after him.

_Kaiba, I now have two things you want: your brother, and your own freedom,_ Bakura thought to himself as he left the KaibaCorp hotel._ All I need in return is your cooperation._

The minute his captor closed the front door to the suite, Mokuba's head was spinning, adrenaline pumping though his system. He tried calling out to the employee he expected was still in the suite - though out of his sight - but was unsurprised when he got no response.

He pulled at his binds, twisting his hands this way and that, trying to find a way he might be able to squeeze out of them. But after some time of struggling he slumped back in his seat. The rope was rough against his skin and he feared that it wouldn't take much more fighting before he began to bleed. Seto would be furious enough as it were, but if he saw him with bleeding hands, his brother would see nothing but red.

Mokuba decided to keep his thoughts on his older brother, lest they stray to hopelessness and he panic. Seto had told him before that panic in a situation such as this could be the equivalent of death. He steadied his breathing until he felt his heartbeat slow. Still, the feeling of helplessness threatened to overwhelm him while he racked his mind for ideas.

* * *

Kaiba pulled a card from his hand and moved to lay it onto the field, but was distracted by a frightened squeak to one side of the room. Briefly, he was reminded Mokuba was there, and in such a compromising situation. Leichter had apparently seen the child squirm uncomfortably and tightened his grip roughly. Kaiba didn't like it, but what could he do? So long as he won, he assumed the danger ought to go away. He placed his Lord of Dragons on the field, followed by a Flute of Summoning Dragon spell card. Two majestic white dragons emerged in a show of virtual sparks.

"_Kaiba, I believe you may need to start working on a backup strategy. Your dragons are powerful, but your stepfather seems bent and determined not to let you win with them. You're going to burn up too many resources trying to use them."_

"_For the last time, you _vexatious sponge_, butt the hell out!"_

"_Kaiba, please! I am only trying to help you, _and_ your brother! If your keep putting all of your stock into your Blue Eyes White Dragons and expecting them to bring you victory, what good will it accomplish? We don't know what will happen if you lose. For all we know, you're playing some sort of shadow game, and the consequences for losing one of those could be catastrophic! What you need to focus on is getting _out_ of this duel, as soon as possible."_ Kaiba looked at the spirit from the corner of his eyes. For a moment, he did not speak, nor even move.

* * *

"What's that guy doin'?" Jounouchi asked from the sidelines. "He's just standing there, not movin' a muscle. Hey, moneybags! Finish the game!"

"Jounouchi, don't shout at him." Yugi urged calmly. "I think… I think he might be talking to the pharaoh. I wonder if he's helping Kaiba. He isn't doing terribly well in this duel, after all. He may need it."

"You sure, Yug'?" Jounouchi questioned. "Kaiba's not really one to ask for help - ever."

Yugi nodded. "I know. But maybe he doesn't have much of a choice. If he really thinks he's dueling your stepfather, and losing, this must be pretty tough for him." Anzu and Jou took in Yugi's words, but didn't respond directly.

* * *

Seconds ticked on, and Kaiba snapped back to attention, content to finish the move he'd begun making.

"Stepfather! You have one monster protecting your life points, and I have two to attack them. This duel won't last much longer. Blue Eyes, attack his face down monster!"

"Reveal trap card, Widespread Ruin!" The eldest Kaiba countered smoothly.

"Dammit!" Kaiba slammed his fist down onto the image of his desk the brunet believed he currently sat at. His attacking Blue Eyes White Dragon was sent to the card graveyard by the effect of Widespread Ruin.

"You're getting reckless, Seto!" Gozaburo chuckled.

"_I know!"_ Kaiba mentally cursed himself.

"You're so bent on using the same strategy to win that you've forgotten you _actually_ have to play to achieve your own victory!" The elder Kaiba scoffed.

"I will _not_ lose to you!"

"I have yet to see evidence of that!" The man in the red suit gave a cruel laugh.

* * *

"Hey," Jounouchi called his friends' attention. "Where're Honda and the kid? It ain't exactly like we're hiding over here. I kinda thought they'd find us by now."

"Yeah, me too," Yugi agreed.

"I think I'm gonna go look for 'em. You know, make sure nothing happened. You guys hold down the fort here."

"Sure thing, Jou. Be careful." Yugi called as his friend ran off.

* * *

A/N: And this, kids, is why you never stray from your group. Poor Mokuba.

Anyway… this duel was difficult for me to write. I don't play much of the game, and I certainly don't keep current with tournament rules. This is a story. This story carries some themes of symbolism. If I paid so much darn attention to getting the rules completely right, I would have spent so much time researching cards and strategies to find something that worked flawlessly with the rulebook, fit my characters, and still held the symbolism I'm trying to convey that I would've missed my deadline - by, like, three Sundays. Not to mention it would've sucked _all_ of the fun out of writing this. So, I stuck with Ishizu's anime deck, the records of which I found on the Wikia page, and when I ran out of cards that were shown on the applicable lists on her page, I filled in other fairy monsters and useful cards. I fully recognize that Gozaburo Kaiba would not be one to use a fairy deck, but as it's just a vision brought on by a magic item, I didn't think I should be forced into complete accuracy there. Call it a dream, and we've all dreamt more bizarre things. Not to mention, there aren't any listed Kaiba Sr. decks I found that didn't revolve around Exodia Necross.

And then there's the chance I just couldn't deny myself, letting my favorite monster in all of existence have her briefest of moments in the spotlight. Wingweaver is quite dear to me, and lives in my own pitiful little deck. Shame I had to have her destroyed…

For anyone who's a little confused on what the role of the millennium puzzle here is, as a few have asked questions about that aspect of this part of the story, it will be explained before the ending, if you'll be so kind as to please bear with me while we let these events fully unfold.

*Sigh* This little story will wrap itself up after just two more installments. One week from today, so long as I stay on schedule, _Shift_ will be finished. Thank you all for sticking with me this far! And as always, my endless gratitude goes out to all those who've reviewed, favorited and/or followed.

Til next time!


	20. Priorities

A/N: It has come to my attention that, as I expected, I may have made a few mistakes in the writing of this game. I apologize for any and all errors I have made. I have gone back, starting with chapter seventeen and any events that apply in later installments as well, and repaired the mistakes that have been called to my attention, as well as any that I've found on my own. This project deserves a more thorough proof-read in regard to this game, but it's past my bedtime as it is, and I meant to post this yesterday. I'm trying to balance staying on schedule and delivering a quality piece, and that balance is proving a little difficult this week. I hope I have not fallen short of my own expectations of myself, or yours.

One reviewer had a question relating to the way Gozaburo/Ishizu summoned the fairy card Wingweaver, and it is accurate to say that this level seven monster ordinarily requires two sacrifices to play, but I should have clarified the effects of the spell card played before it, Tribute Doll. The text on the card reads, "Activate this card by offering a monster on your side of the field as a tribute. Special summon one level 7 monster from your hand. That monster cannot attack this turn." I apologize for not making that more clear, but that move was, to the best of my knowledge, not against the rules. Regarding the monster earlier on, which I did have summoned without proper tribute - I don't know how I let that slide, but I've found another issue regarding that move and I've removed it altogether. Hopefully the rest of the duel will play out with fewer mistakes. I am quite sorry for that, and I hope those issues haven't taken away from the game or the story too much for any of my lovely readers.

Yet, at the same time, while I'm thankful for having my errors brought to my attention as soon as possible, I do also hope you won't read this duel with _too_ analytical of a mind, and just enjoy it for what it's meant to be: entertainment. Thank you, and I hope you enjoy the next chapter!

* * *

Honda wandered around the vast yet unfinished park wondering where his friends had gone off to. He hadn't seen a trace of Kaiba or the others since he had departed from his friends, and he suspected it was edging past the one-hour mark when they were supposed to meet up again. Just as he turned to locate the entrance, a breath of movement in the distance caught his eye, and he ran to catch up, calling after the other.

* * *

"_You're so bent on winning you've forgotten that you actually have to play to achieve your own victory."_

"_I will _not_ lose to you!"_

"I have yet to see evidence of that! Now watch closely as I bring this match to an end. The card I brought back to my hand earlier was Tribute Doll, which I'll now use to sacrifice my face down Forgiving Maiden and summon the seven-star Buster Blader!"

Kaiba hissed as though the man's move had physically hurt him. "And it gains five hundred points for every dragon your opponent has on the field and in the graveyard," he recited mechanically. He felt as though he'd fueled his own demise. Gozaburo smirked.

"Very good, Seto. That puts my monster at 4300 attack points. That's one thousand three hundred points higher than that of your remaining dragon, a difference that comes out of your life points when I attack next turn!"

"Not if I put my monsters in defense mode." Kaiba switched his monster into defense mode and laid one card face down, then passed his turn back to Gozaburo.

"Unless, of course, I have this card." Gozaburo flipped around one card from his hand to show it to Kaiba, but he didn't respond. "I play Stop Defense. Buster Blader, destroy Seto's Blue Eyes White Dragon!" With his dragon back in attack mode, Kaiba's life points dropped to eleven hundred.

(Gozaburo/6850 LP, Kaiba/1100 LP)

* * *

The pharaoh sighed. _"Look, Kaiba. Look at your brother."_ Nine year old Mokuba's expression was pained as he tried to keep himself from squirming more. His cheek, where he had been struck, had turned bright red. Though he tried so desperately to fight them, at some point the tears had welled up in his eyes and poured over his cheeks._ "Does it look like he can sit there waiting patiently for you to act this out in a way that's most satisfying to your _ego_?"_ he spat._ "What about humility? What about mending your relationship with Mokuba? Tell me, Kaiba. What is truly important to you?"_

"_You said yourself that I won't get very far reconciling with my brother until I find a way to best my stepfather's influence on my life." _Kaiba's fingers lingered on a throwaway monster to defend while he waited to draw a better option, but didn't play the card.

"_You've already admitted that what you've tried before _wasn't working_. So why continue to attack outright when you have other options?"_ The pharaoh gestured to Kaiba's hand, to one card in particular. It was tucked away, almost hidden by the monster he had been about to play. Kaiba fanned his hand out wider to properly examine his options.

"_What else are you going to do, Kaiba?"_

The CEO growled. _"I have a strategy! I just need to draw a few more cards…"_

* * *

Mokuba recalled how he had escaped from the tower Pegasus kept him in on his tournament island. He'd used a tactic he'd seen in a movie once, and it had worked well enough. Growing up, Seto had tried to teach him to do such things, to rely on himself, so he could never be caught completely helpless. Yet here he was, after walking right into the lion's den.

The weight of his predicament pulled at his mind. He'd been here before, but experience didn't make it any easier. Nearly every time someone had tried to take him, to use him as a pawn, Seto had had to intervene. But his brother was in his own predicament, and Mokuba couldn't afford to assume the CEO was coming to his rescue this time.

Remembering the story Yugi had told him on the plane ride, Mokuba wondered what his brother had gotten into, and cursed himself. It had been _his_ turn to save his brother this time. But he had gotten himself caught again, and now he was forced to be used against his own family, not for the first time.

He contemplated his role in his situation, and came to the understanding that if he hadn't gotten involved, Seto would only have himself to look out for.

"That's how Nii-sama prefers to work," he thought with disdain for his actions. "If I hadn't come along I couldn't have made this worse for him." His frustration came in another wave, wishing he at least had an opportunity to open the locket draped around his neck, his comforting habit.

But realization hit him like a jolt of electricity. With his locket hanging on its long leather cord, loose on his neck, he swung himself to one side, using the velocity of his movements to force the pendant to swing from side to side. He continued his actions until the weight of the locket swung around his neck and he caught it with one of his bound hands behind his back. His finger found the button on the top and clicked open the latch. Using the rough edge of the latch that kept the locket closed, Mokuba ground it against the rope as quickly as he could. Gradually the fibers of the cord began to split. As he worked at it long enough, the rope was filed down sufficiently in one place. With a hopeful demeanor and a rough yank, the young Kaiba pulled the weakened rope into two pieces, finally freeing himself.

* * *

Bakura caught sight of the aggressive brunet on his tail and rolled his eyes. "I can never be free of you fools, can I?" He muttered to himself. He slowed his pace to let the man catch up with him.

"Hey! Wait up!" Honda called, initially unaware of his target's identity but quickly catching on when he caught a glimpse of his white hair. Anger flared through him and he quickened his pace.

When the spirit of the ring stopped suddenly and turned to face his pursuer, Honda nearly slammed into him. Bakura shoved back with a heavy shoulder, knocking Honda off his feet.

"You and your little friends should have stayed out of this."

"_You_-" Honda cursed and clambered back to his feet. He took a fighting stance. "Whatever you've done to my friends _this_ time, I'll give you three seconds to undo it before I break your face in!" Honda lunged toward the spirit but Bakura swiftly dodged.

"Haven't we been through this once before?" He laughed, recalling their fight at Duelist Kingdom. "You have nothing to gain by challenging me, as you cannot win. Go home." Honda charged him again. His expression held a subdued amount of glee as he saw, over his opponent's shoulder, Jounouchi had come to join him.

Bakura dodged again but Honda had managed to knock him off balance, and he toppled over Jounouchi's outstretched leg. Honda threw himself on top of the spirit, pinning him down rendering his torso and his legs unmovable. Jou wrestled with Bakura's arms until he had them pinned underneath himself as well.

"What the hell do you think you're doin' here, Bakura?" Jounouchi challenged angrily. Bakura responded with a smirk.

"My business does not concern you. Let me about my task and you will not be harmed." Jounouchi rolled his eyes.

"_Bull,"_ he spat. "Where're you headed?"

"To find Kaiba."

"What for?" Honda demanded.

"I have a trade to make with him," he answered with fake innocence.

"Yeah, we heard all about that little trade of yours. You really think it's gonna work, huh?"

"Certainly. I have secured another bargaining chip," he said in a dark tone that sent a shiver down the men's spines.

"Think again!" the youngest Kaiba's voice called from the distance. Bakura growled as the boy appeared in plain sight, twirling the locket of his brother in one hand by its cord, like a weapon.

In his case, it had been. It was his saving grace.

Bakura flashed him a confused glance, but there was a hint of danger in his eyes.

"My brother," Mokuba answered aloud, reminding himself as well, "always comes to the rescue." _In one way or another_, he thought with a smirk. He slipped the leather binding back over his head and tucked the locket under his shirt, where it hung near to his heart.

Bakura let out a low growl. "This is not over, you fools." With a burst of unexpected energy, he threw the men holding him down off of him. Disoriented and unbalanced, their faces hit the ground. By the time any of them looked up, their target was already gone from sight. They looked from their surroundings to each other's faces without answer.

"How do you think he could've just disappeared like that?" Honda asked Jounouchi, who just shrugged.

"Dunno. But we ought to get the little guy back to his bro." Mokuba perked up upon hearing this.

"You found him?" He asked eagerly.

"Yeah. But it's weird, man. He's in a duel with Ishizu… but it's like he's not." Mokuba and Honda both flashed him looks of confusion. Jounouchi stood and brushed himself off, then sighed. "Come on, let's just get over there, before Bakura does. I'll explain on the way."

* * *

"Seto!" Mokuba, leading the group of three, called out to his brother in his elevated arena.

Yugi and Anzu welcomed the rest of the group and quietly caught them up on what they'd missed.

"You can beat him, Nii-sama! You've done it before!" Mokuba called his support out to his brother. "He's no match for your real strength." Although it was evident from the outside that Kaiba did not seem to hear him, Mokuba hoped there was still a way his words would get through.

* * *

"_So what strategy do you speak of, Kaiba? Will you just keep looking for opportunities to use your Ultimate Dragon? It may be the only monster you have that's strong enough to take on his Buster Blader directly, but you know that a powerful offense isn't-"_

"…_Isn't the only strategy to destroy an opponent. I know that. You…"_ The billionaire sighed._ "…You make a good point."_ Kaiba locked eyes with the spirit as he slammed the once hidden card face down on the field, ending his turn once again. Those same blue eyes graced over the young boy in the corner, trying his hardest not to cry for his big brother. _"And I need to get _him_ out of this."_

"Kaiba isn't looking so good, guys." Anzu worried. "Ishizu's monster has so many attack points, and Kaiba's practically leaving himself wide open. Once the monster he just laid down is gone…"

"He'll find a way," Yugi said - half convinced, and half hoping.

"That's all you've got, my boy? You're finished! You never even stood a chance. I summon one monster to attack your face down card, before my Blader can take out the rest of your life points!" The man in the red suit looked up at his stepson, but was taken aback by his calm expression. Seto Kaiba sat across the wooden desk from the man who trained him to be what he'd become, and he smirked.

"I am a master gamer, father. What's more, is that we're playing _my_ game. You're in _my_ world. You can't beat me. I have a goal to achieve, and nothing comes before that. No amount of training and studying and etiquette you try to cram down my throat is going to change that." Kaiba's calm demeanor slipped away and he began to raise his voice. "I made you adopt me for one reason. And I'm _not_ going to let you take that reason away from me! I reveal my face down monster, Cyber Jar!"

"What on earth is that?!"

"Allow me to show you," he spoke in a thickly condescending tone. "Cyber Jar destroys all monsters on both sides of the field. Next we each pick up five cards from the top of our decks and show them to each other. Any monsters with four stars or less are played on the field in face-up attack or face-down defense position, holder's choice. The rest of the cards go into our respective hands. Now, let's see who gets lucky."

Gozaburo picked his cards up first and laid them out in front of him. Cestus Dagla, and Pyramid Energy, two equip spell cards; Ocubeam, a five star monster (1550atk/1650def); Hoshiningen, a two star monster (500atk/700def); and Magic Jammer made up the five cards he picked up. He placed Hoshiningen on the field in face-down defense position (700def), and gestured for Kaiba to pick his cards from the top of his own deck.

"_He's off to a bad start. Let's just hope you're luckier than him."_

"_You had better not start off on some 'Heart of the Cards' speech, pharaoh. I really don't want to hear it right now."_ The spirit chuckled lightly, but focused his attention on viewing the cards his host claimed from his deck. The first card he drew was not a monster, but the spell card Cost Down. He laid it on the desk for Gozaburo to see, then went back to his deck. The next card happened to be Cave Dragon, a quite powerful four star monster (2000atl/100def). He called it to the field in attack mode and pulled a third card. The six-starred Luster Dragon #2 (2400atk/1400def), though not weak enough to be summoned immediately, was better than any monster his opponent received. He showed it, then placed it in his hand. Both the fourth card as well as the fifth, Kaiba and the pharaoh were relieved to see were four star monsters, Spear Dragon (1900atk/0def) and Slate Warrior (1900/400), and he played both on the field.

"Well, now, Gozaburo. It would seem the tables have turned. You have very little to defend with, and now it appears to be… _my turn._" Kaiba couldn't help but let himself feel smug. The tables _had_ turned, and there was nothing the old fool could do about it. Kaiba was ready to call his first attack when Gozaburo started laughing.

"Now what?"

"It still doesn't matter, you petulant child! You still aren't going to beat me! You may know the cards I just picked up, but you don't know what I already held in my hand. Make your move but this duel isn't over. I have just enough life points to outlast your petty attacks. And when it's my turn again, victory will be mine!"

"You're wrong. I have the end of this duel calculated out. I know exactly how this is going to end. You've seen the attack points of my monsters. You assume I'll attack your face down with my weakest monster, and then use my Cave Dragon's 2000 points with my Slate Warrior's 1900, only taking you down to 2950, giving you another turn."

"Don't play me for an idiot, son. I know about your Slate Warrior's effect, which is why you laid it face down. It will gain an extra five hundred attack points as soon as you flip it over. And don't think I forgot about the other cards you picked up. You intend to add another 2400 points to the damage total by using Cost Down on your Luster Dragon and adding it to your little army."

"You're exactly correct," Kaiba announced, playing his Cost Down and Luster Dragon #2. "And that means I win."

"Wrong. Your arsenal adds up to 6800 points of damage. My life points are at 6850. I may only end up with fifty life points, but that will buy me one more turn. And in my next turn, I will wipe you out!"

* * *

"Oh no… Seto…" Mokuba pouted from the sidelines. "Yugi, do you really think my brother could lose next turn?" The boy was distressed, but Yugi was grinning.

"No, Mokuba. There isn't going to be a next turn. This was a close duel, and I'll bet it was a tough one for Kaiba, but by now, he already has this game won."

"Really?" Hope grew in Mokuba's eyes. "How do you know?"

"Look at what monsters your brother has on the field."

"…What about them?" The boy, not quite as versed in the game as the champions were, was confused.

"Kaiba's opponent knows about one of his cards' effects, but apparently not all of them."

* * *

This time it was Kaiba's turn to laugh. "Aren't you still just a _little bit_ young to start going senile, you dolt? I showed you my cards! You have no excuse not to have missed the effect of my Spear Dragon!"

"What?! Explain yourself!"

"If the added attack power of my Luster Dragon (2400atk), my Cave Dragon (2000atk), and my powered up Slate Warrior (2400) equals 6800, then surely when you add on the effect my Spear Dragon has, you would have to agree it exceeds the total of your 6850."

"_What effect, damnit_?!"

"Spear Dragon can attack a defending monster as though it were in attack position, meaning battle damage still applies."

"Wh-what? Wait, no! That can't be right!"

"Oh, I'm afraid it can," Kaiba said, his voice like smooth lace. "Monsters, attack!" Together, Kaiba's creatures totaled eight thousand seven hundred attack points, more than enough to obliterate his stepfather's remaining life points in one turn. "For all that trouble you went to building up your life points, it turned out to be a wasted effort. And that, father, is _checkmate_.

"No, no… you twit! You child! How can you keep doing this to me?! No! I was supposed to win! I am the one who is superior!" The former CEO fell into a panic, chest heaving, and wrapped one hand around his own neck. Kaiba stood from the chair he'd been using and sized the older man up, even while he bent across the desk and hyperventilated. He didn't care - the man _was_ already dead, after all.

"_Mokuba!"_ Without allowing himself much time to gloat over his predecessor, the brunet's sense of duty toward his sibling flared and he turned to address the child… but he was gone. Leichter was nowhere to be seen, either.

"_Strange,"_ the pharaoh noted, seeing the same thing. Kaiba glanced upward back toward his stepfather, only to be suddenly blinded by the light emitting from the window. Gozaburo, also, was nowhere to be seen. The light from the window grew stronger and brighter until in enveloped the entire room, and soon all Kaiba or the spirit could see was white.

* * *

A/N: As always, I offer my unending gratitude to those who've made the effort to inform me that you're interested by following/favoriting/reviewing, and to everyone who's been reading this far! I cannot thank you guys enough for helping make this happen for me, and I hope to see you all again on Sunday!


	21. Reconstruction

A/N: Here we are guys, last update!

In regards to the cards used in the last chapter, Cyber Jar (though Yami E mentioned that it might seem out of place for him to rely on a chance card in his own deck) _is_ actually a card in his deck at some points throughout the series. The unlikelihood for him to rely on such a card (backed by the evidence that he does put it in his deck) is why I wanted to include it as a turnaround for him. That, and it's another close favorite of mine. :)

So, here we are with the ending of Shift!

* * *

Slowly, very slowly, Kaiba came back to awareness. Blinding yellow light faded and he could gradually make out the shape of the arena he had previously been standing in, across from Ishizu Ishtar. He looked down at the endgame cards in his hand, and the dead life point counter.

"_So, I really was playing this game all along,"_ Kaiba said mentally. The pharaoh didn't answer, and Kaiba began picking up his cards.

"Wait, so…" Jounouchi spoke from one side, "That out-of-it look on his face is gone. Does that mean he's back in the land of the living?" Kaiba's attention was pulled to where the voice had come from, surprised to find anyone there at all.

"It appears so," Ishizu announced. Both players were lowered from the arena.

"Seto!" Mokuba ran up to his brother and attacked him with a set of arms around his neck. Kaiba caught the boy with an 'oomph'.

"Mokuba? What on earth are you doing, _here_?"

"I was getting kind of worried about you…"

"How did you even get here?" He set the child gently back down on his feet.

"Took the jet. Yugi said you might be in danger."

"_Hmph. I guess it turns out your lame little friends _did_ have my brother in custody. You're lucky he seems to be safe."_ Kaiba spoke to the pharaoh, glancing off to the side he usually spotted the spirit. However, strangely, he wasn't present. _"Pharaoh?"_ No answer. He looked to his other side. Still nothing.

"What was all this?" Mokuba interrupted.

"It's a long story, Mokuba. If I try to tell you, I might need a shrink by the end of it," he muttered. He had a strong, protective urge to tell the boy he should've stayed home, that he hadn't needed to be rescued by him, but thought better of it before he opened his mouth again, choosing instead to remain silent on the matter.

"You look a bit disoriented, Kaiba," Ishizu commented. "Why don't you open your briefcase and we can sort this out?" Ishizu gestured to where Kaiba had left the silver case and he followed her instructions, extracting the puzzle from its place. Kaiba noted the eager expression that crossed Yugi's face when he saw it. While he didn't appear to have any particular fondness for the item, he no longer looked at it as though it had come from a back alley dumpster while he held it in one hand.

"He's gone," Kaiba murmured, inaudible to most of the group.

"Gone?" Mokuba, just close enough to have heard the whisper, asked. "Who?" But he didn't answer. All he knew now was that the item he'd been in possession of for weeks now felt… spectacularly empty.

"I trust you have come to the understanding, Kaiba, that the millennium puzzle no longer responds to you." Kaiba did not confirm verbally, but the way his eyes met those of the Egyptian woman's told her he did understand. He handed the golden pyramid back to its rightful owner who accepted it, gratefully and with longing, and immediately placed the chain around his neck.

"The power of the pharaoh's puzzle has served its purpose for you, and now that your trial has ended, it is no longer available for your use. I don't know exactly what happened to you during your vision, but whatever it was that you went through seemed to have been exactly what you needed." This time Kaiba nodded.

"It was." He said quietly, to himself. "Ishizu. You seem to often have some sort of explanation - logical or not - for these sort of fairy tale affairs. So I might as well inquire…"

"I would be happy to clarify anything you wish to ask, so long as I have an answer to give."

"That… hallucination, or whatever it was - it seemed completely random. I don't see what brought it on. And if you try to call it magic-"

"I presume," she held up a hand top pacify him so she could give an answer, "it was the card I played, Sacrifice's Blast. Examine the nature of its effect. Not only is it capable of doing a significant amount of damage to a player's life points, but in the case of our duel, the card was used to infect a creature most precious to you, and destroy it from the inside while you stood helpless. The biggest reason for pain is that you had no idea what was rotting inside your own monster since the moment you summoned it. Think about that concept for a moment. Does it remind you of… anything else?"

Kaiba did think about it, and realized it did remind him of something… of some_one_.

"It sounds remarkably similar to my stepfather's strategy."

"Even your old man played Duel Monsters, Kaiba?" Jounouchi chimed in, astonishment creeping into his voice.

"Not quite. I was referring more broadly to his strategy in life. One of Gozaburo's greatest joys was to destroy anything his enemies deemed as valued. And he made it quite clear to me while I grew up in his household that he and I were enemies ourselves."

"You understand, then, where your vision came from. The idea was already in your mind once I activated that card, and the millennium puzzle made it tangible."

"Mhm," Kaiba said dismissively. He'd gotten _some_ sort of conclusion, and though he didn't stand convicted of the existence of magic and souls like everyone around him seemed to be, he _could_ see the connection between the card used against him and the behavior of the man he struggled to overcome. There had to be some psychological connection. It was enough for him.

Kaiba observed Yugi, who was now standing off to one side, with his eyes closed. A small bead of yellow light was glowing from the center of the eye on the face of the artifact.

* * *

"_Pharaoh. You've finally returned!"_ The teenager exclaimed gleefully.

"_Yes, Yugi. And I am glad to be back with you."_

"_Are you alright? We've all been so worried about you._

"_I'm fine, my dear friend. You came to my aide just in time."_

"_But we didn't really do anything at all… it was all Ishizu."_

"_And who sent her to me, Yugi? And I believe Mokuba may have had a part in this as well. Furthermore, what might Kaiba have done with the puzzle if you hadn't come out here to receive it from him?"_

"_I-I guess I can see it that way,"_ he stammered, unconvinced.

"_But it doesn't matter. You and I are reunited, aibou."_

"_Yeah!"_

The two stood in silence for a moment, each basking in the company of the other.

* * *

Bakura flashed his sinister eyes over the group as he watched from a distance, out of sight. A snarl escaped his lips while he watched the ancient item change hands, but his expression slowly morphed into a smirk and he threw his head back in laughter.

"This trial may be over, pharaoh, but I still hold the cards. I will have you yet." His smirk remained plastered to his face as he turned to leave.

* * *

"Yugi…" Kaiba started apprehensively, catching the teen's attention, not exactly sure what he wanted to say. But Yugi seemed to understand without him even having to ask. He smiled, and the small glowing light grew a little brighter, while Yugi's form grew a little taller. The man who now stood before Kaiba sighed contentedly and flashed him a grin. He turned to his friends before regarding Kaiba further.

"Jounouchi… everyone, could we have a moment? I'll meet back with you shortly." The group looked put out, but only Jou showed any protest.

"Only if you're sure he ain't gonna try any funny business."

The pharaoh chuckled lightheartedly. "I'm sure, Jou. I'll be fine."

"You got five minutes, rich boy, and we're comin' back to make sure you ain't pulling any tricks," Jounouchi promised, but turned to follow his friends. Kaiba didn't respond to him. He turned to the pharaoh instead.

"It would seem, in the end, all you needed to do was battle your demons. You fought well, Kaiba." Kaiba's face betrayed that he was struggling with which words to choose. Finally, he sighed and threw his hands up.

"This would actually be easier to convey if you were still in my head. I'm not exactly certain of the best way to word this." The pharaoh stood patiently, giving Kaiba time to pick his words. "I'm relieved I had your advice. It hardly even registered to me that I was holding that card. If I threw down that throwaway monster I already had a hand on just to try continuing with my own strategy…" Kaiba trailed off, assuming the other man knew where he was going.

"You played very well. You won that duel on your own." Kaiba caught his eye, but didn't respond.

"I'm… almost a little disappointed I won't have a chance to see the effect this game had."

"You mean your mind's room? You shouldn't need to anymore, my friend. You know what _was_ there. You are now equipped with an understanding of what needs to be done to mold it into what you desire. You've already proven that you know Mokuba comes first to you. You put somebody else before yourself, a concept I don't believe your stepfather even knew of." Kaiba smirked dryly at the remark. "As long as you continue along the path you've set out for yourself, Kaiba, I believe you and Mokuba will be fine. You've completed two objectives with one swift motion. You've both dismissed your stepfather by disregarding the way he has tried to control you, and proven to yourself that your family is your priority. Now all that's left for you to do," the pharaoh looked back in the direction of their waiting companions, "is prove it to him."

Kaiba nodded. He decided then and there that he would walk the earth over to find a way to repair the cracks he had inflicted upon his little brother. He was determined to fix the damage he'd done. A smile threatening to tug it his lips, but he shook it away and faced the other directly. "I suppose, Pharaoh, I owe you a 'thank you'… and perhaps a bit of an apology as well. I may have acted like a bit of an ass." The Egyptian's eyebrows raised in slight shock at hearing the admission. But he knew he might not be likely to ever hear it again, so he didn't want to press the issue.

"Only _this time_?" He poked. It didn't mean he couldn't still play with the other.

"Pardon me, but I know quite well how regularly I act like an ass. Most often, I believe it's justified." The pharaoh smirked.

"If you say so." He would accept the CEO's hidden admission. He turned an appeased gaze back toward his friends, who were occupied chatting amongst themselves in the distance.

"Oh, and…" Kaiba caught the pharaoh's attention again, just in time to land a punch to his shoulder, emitting a cry of disgruntled pain as he rubbed the spot. "_That's_ for taking over my body."

"Hey! I'm not the only one who uses this vessel, you know! Yugi's going to feel that too." The pharaoh lowered his hand from the injury.

"Then I suppose that's what he gets for losing to me. And…" Now that the man had left his shoulder unguarded again, Kaiba hit him a second time in the same spot, harder this time, clearly angering him. "That's for doing it again."

"Alright, Kaiba! I get it. Now enough - that hurts!" The Game King pulled his jacket off one shoulder to examine the now reddened area. "It's certain to bruise," he muttered with a frown.

"You should be thankful. I could have hit much harder." He turned to retrieve his briefcase. "By rights, I should have." The pharaoh considered that, remembering that the powerful CEO _had_ threatened to do much worse. He decided to let it go.

After shutting off the stadium's power lever and grabbing his briefcase, Kaiba and the pharaoh regrouped with the rest of the party together.

"Hey, Kaiba." Jou called when they approached. "What are we gonna do about Bakura?"

"Is that menace still on the premises?" Kaiba grimaced, then called to attention the employee who drove the limo he came in on. "Kick up security on the property, and show no mercy to any unwelcome guests," he demanded with threatening authority. The man nodded and spoke the command into a radio that hung from his belt.

"I don't think we'll have to worry about him," Kaiba resolved, eying the pharaoh beside him. "He had nothing to offer me anyhow." The pharaoh closed his eyes, trying not to let his gritting teeth be heard by the others. In the end, he had to laugh it off. The ordeal had, after all, been concluded with far more grace than he had anticipated.

Mokuba determined he would not bring up his run-in with the man his brother had just called a menace. He had managed to handle his adversary on his own this time, and Seto ought not worry about it. "Seto, do you have to get back to work by now?" He asked. "I know it's early, but I'm sure you were already busy cracking heads together, right?" Kaiba lifted a hand to his coat pocket to dig out his phone and check the time, but stopped himself.

"No, Mokuba. You're right, it is still early. Let's get breakfast instead." Mokuba grinned at his brother as they climbed into the limo together. On the sidelines, Jounouchi was drooling.

"Dude… we've been on that plane for _so long!_ And you know moneybags, we came all the way out here for _you_ 'cause we thought you were in trouble, so uh… whadya say? Does that 'let's' include us too?" Kaiba had already closed the door to the limousine he and Izhizu had taken from the hotel, but he rolled down the tinted window.

"I don't care," he said dismissively. "But if it does, we're riding separately." The billionaire gestured to the other black limo that the rest of the group had arrived in, and everybody piled in. "And I'm not sitting with you," he said under his breath.

* * *

"You're not coming back with us, Mokuba?" Anzu questioned while the rest of the group stood alongside the KaibaCorp jet they'd flown in on.

"Nope. Nii-sama said I can stay until it's time for him to go back home too." The group, the pharaoh especially, stole questioning glances at Kaiba.

"I agreed to it," he explained aloud, though apparently directing his comment toward his younger sibling, "under the pretense that you've already packed your textbooks and assignments. You can continue your lessons as scheduled, long distance over video chat."

"Sure thing, Seto! And hey, maybe in my spare time I can find a few ways to help you out so you can catch up. You know, in case this set you back any time." The elder Kaiba nodded.

"Just so we're clear…" Kaiba stated in a voice loud enough to catch everyone's attention, although when they looked back at him, he was idly examining his fingernails. "This still doesn't make us 'friends'." He heard the expected exasperated groans from the majority of the Yugitachi, but glanced up at the pharaoh just in time to catch him rolling his eyes and grinning.

Mokuba was smiling at the group while he waved them farewell, but Kaiba focused soft eyes on his brother. As the last of the small group boarded the aircraft, Kaiba placed a hand on the top of Mokuba's head - not ruffling playfully as he might in one of his rare cheerful streaks - but simply reveling in the pleasant contact.

Ishizu, accompanied now by her adoptive brother Rishid, approached the brothers before boarding their ride back to Egypt. Kaiba's hand dropped to his brother's shoulder, content to show a little affection to the child for once.

"Ishizu." Kaiba nodded to the woman.

"I am pleased with this turn of events. I hope that someday you and the pharaoh will get along as well as you once-" Kaiba cut her off.

"If you're about to go into some spiel about ancient Egypt or whatever-"

It was her turn to cut _him_ off. She smiled.

"I'll spare you. Thank you for allowing me the opportunity to show you another side of the coin, Kaiba. I wish you an enjoyable and fruitful remainder to your business trip." She and Rishid bowed to the Kaiba brothers, and they were off. Kaiba had to assume she knew he'd have nothing direct to reply with anyhow.

* * *

Productive as his trip had been by the end, Kaiba was quick to fall asleep once he lay his head down in his own bed, at home in Domino City. As he drifted into deeper sleep, his mind began to dream. He opened his eyes to the interior of a room. It was a familiar setting, though it had changed since the last time he had seen it.

The room was emanating white-blue light. In the center was a low table, on which sat a picture frame. He approached it, expecting to see the same painting of his little brother he'd seen there many times before. The subject was the same, but Kaiba was confused. It was the same image in the same pose, same lighting, same background. But something was a little off. He had to closely examine the contents of this frame in detail, and suddenly it clicked. Instead of a painting of his little brother, it seemed to have been replaced with a photograph. The cracks were gone. He allowed himself a grin. Kaiba went on to examine the rest of his surroundings, expecting everything to be in order after that point.

But they weren't. It took but a moment to notice that the large crack across the walls and floor still remained. But upon approaching the deepest, widest part of the fissure, it became quite clear that, like the doorway that had become bricked over in the maze game he had once played with the pharaoh, this large crack had been somewhat filled with material not unlike the bricks used to create the pyramids themselves. Kaiba flicked a finger at the substance, testing it, and nodded in approval. The fractures were not gone, but their impact had been severely lessened. Where there was once a seeping open wound, now only a scar remained. His fingers instinctually brushed across the scars on his neck, under his collar. Someday, they too would fade.

Next to be addressed was the door to his left. He opened it once more, finding the same wall paintings and the same small table. Once again, there was a subtle difference. Kaiba didn't need to peek in the drawer to look for the miniature millennium puzzle replica - a life-sized model, with a leather cord, sat upon the tabletop. Kaiba picked the item up and held it for a while. He contemplated testing the head chair around the coffee table again, this time while holding the item to see what it might show him, but when he peeked out of the small room to seek out the seat, it wasn't there. He had nothing left to do but assume he'd missed that change upon entering. He replaced the puzzle and closed the white door behind him, and continued out into the hallway.

"_Entwined by fate, hmm? Well, let's see just how far into my head you've crawled, pharaoh."_ Kaiba opened the door to the pharaoh's chamber, which he understood - were this true reality - shouldn't have existed any longer if the King of Games and his puzzle were gone.

He peered into the brightly lit chamber and was met with the smile of a familiar face.

"Hello, Kaiba." The brunet nodded toward him upon entering. "I propose we play a game. Could you be persuaded to join me in a duel?" Kaiba flashed his signature smirk, and his deck of cards appeared before him.

* * *

A/N: Well, there we have it! I do believe this would be my longest completed work to date. I thank you all, my loyal reviewers, anyone who's shown their support, encouraging me to finish this project, and everyone who took the time out of their life to read this from start to finish. You have my perpetual gratitude for helping to make this thing happen.

I know I missed the mark in a few places getting this story to be what it ought, but I hope I've gotten enough of it right to please my readers to some extent. I've had a great time writing and posting this, getting to know the community here better. It's been a trip, and I've certainly enjoyed the ride. I bid you farewell. Perhaps I'll see you next time.

Happy fanfictioning!

~ohmygodagiantrock


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